Right gonadal arteries passing dorsally to the inferior vena cava: embryological hypotheses.

The right gonadal artery (RGA) usually arises from the anterior wall of the abdominal aorta below the level of the renal arteries and veins, passes ventrally to the inferior vena cava (IVC), and then runs obliquely downward to reach the pelvic cavity. In this study, we observed 59 Japanese cadavers and found that in eight of them (13.6%), the RGA's passed dorsally to the IVC.