NCLEX Cardiovascular System Practice Test

Blood to the kidneys comes mainly through the renal arteries, which are direct branches of the abdominal aorta. They deliver high-pressure arterial blood to the kidneys so filtration in the nephrons can occur efficiently, with the vessels branching into smaller arterioles to reach the glomeruli. The other arteries serve different organs: hepatic arteries feed the liver, coronary arteries supply the heart muscle, and pulmonary arteries carry blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs for oxygenation. Therefore, the artery that primarily supplies the kidneys is the renal artery.