Problem in diagnostic imaging: Behind the left renal vein

This study presents, as diagnostic problems, computed tomographic scans from a selection of patients with suspected or known tumors, primary or secondary, in the retroperitoneal area, at the level of the renal hila. The study emphasizes the value of serial CT scans, and of three-dimensional reconstructions made from them, in distinguishing between tumor and incidental venous anomalies in this region, principally those involving communications between the left renal vein and the ascending lumbar vein. Clin. Anat. 10:349–352, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.