Mapping the arterial vascular network in an intact human kidney using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The architecture of kidney vasculature is essential the organ's specialised functions, yet is challenging to structurally map in an intact human organ. Here, we combined hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT) with topology network analysis to enable quantitative assessment of the intact human kidney vasculature, from the renal artery to interlobular arteries. Comparison with kidney vascular maps described for rodents revealed similar topologies to human, but human kidney vasculature possessed a significantly sharper decrease in radius from hilum to cortex, deviating from theoretically optimal flow resistance for smaller vessels. Structural differences in kidney hilar, medullary and cortical vasculature reflected unique functional adaptations of each zone. This work represents the first time the arterial vasculature of an intact human kidney has been mapped beyond segmental arteries, potentiating novel computational models of kidney vascular flow in humans. Our analyses have implications for understanding how blood vessel structure collectively scales to facilitate specialised functions in human organs.
Date Issued
2025-09-03
Date Acceptance
2025-05-16
Citation
npj Imaging, 2025, 3
ISSN
2948-197X
Publisher
Nature Research
Journal / Book Title
npj Imaging
Volume
3
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40903539
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
39
Date Publish Online
2025-09-03