ACCESSORY LEFT TESTICULAR VEIN: A RARE VARIATION George Joseph Lufukuja Lecturer & Head of Department of Anatomy and Histology, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, P.O. Box: 65300, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (East Africa). Address   for   Correspondence:   Dr.   George   Joseph   Lufukuja,   Lecturer   &   Head   of   Department   of   Anatomy   and   Histology,   Hubert   Kairuki   Memorial   University, P.O. Box: 65300, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (East Africa). Mobile: +255717090572/+255787065555 E-Mail:  lufukuja70@yahoo.co.uk ABSTRACT I   am   reporting   a   case   of   a   male   cadaver,   of   40   years   of   age.   In   our   routine   dissection   in   our   University   laboratory   at   Hubert   Kairuki   Memorial   University   for the   first   year   medical   students,   we   observed   an   accessory   left   testicular   vein   draining   into   the   left   renal   vein.      Anatomic   variations   of   the   testicular   vein   are frequent,   especially   concerning   the   number   of   left   side   testicular   veins   and   the   angle   of   termination   of   these   veins.   Normally   the   left   testicular   vein   ascends almost   vertically   terminating   in   the   left   renal   vein   in   a   right   angle,   and   this   has   been   suggested   to   results   in   a   higher   tendency   for   the   left   testicle   to   develop varicocele.   This   is   due   to   the   fact   that   gravity   working   on   the   column   of   blood   in   the   left   testicular   vein   that   connects   to   the   renal   vein   at   a   right   angle. During   pre-operative   planning   of   varicocele,   the   surgeons   should   not   overlook   the   possibility   of   an   abnormal   drainage   site   or   an   accessory   collateral drainage as it is in this case, because such a misdiagnosis may result in an increase of varicocele recurrence rate. KEY WORDS: Left accessory testicular vein, drainage site, and varicocele. References 1 . Paraskevas   GK,   Loannidis   O,   Natsis   K,   Martoglou   S.   Abnormal   bilateral   drainage   of   testicular   veins:   embryological   aspects   and   surgical   application. Rom J Morphol Embryol 2012, 53(3):635–638. http://www.rjme.ro/RJME/resources/files/530312635638.pdf . (accessed February, 2013). 2 . Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicular_vein . (accessed February, 2013). 3 . Marcello   C,   Mariana   AC,   Frances   MB,   Ashok   A.    The   Role   of   Varicocele   Repair   in   the   New   Era   of   Assisted   Reproductive   Technology.   Clinics.   2008   June; 63 (3) : 395–404. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664231/   (accessed February, 2013). 4 . Luciano   A.   Favorito;   Waldemar   S.   Costa;   Francisco   J.B.   Sampaio.   Applied   anatomic   study   of   testicular   veins   in   adult   cadavers   and   in   human   fetuses.   Int. braz   j   urol.   vol.33   no.2   Rio   de   Janeiro   Mar./Apr.   2007.   http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=s1677-55382007000200007&script=sci_arttext    (accessed March, 2013). 5 . Favorito   L   A   ,   Costa   W   S   ,   Sampaio   F   J   B   .   Applied   anatomic   study   of   testicular   veins   in   adult   cadavers   and   in   human   fetuses.      Int   Braz   J   Urol.   ;33 (2):176-80   http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:17488536  (accessed March, 2013). 6 . Itoh   M ,   Moriyama   H ,   Tokunaga   Y ,   Miyamoto   K ,   Nagata   W ,   Satriotomo   I ,   Shimada   K ,   Takeuchi   Y .   Embryological   consideration   of   drainage   of   the   left testicular     vein     into     the     ipsilateral     renal     vein:     analysis     of     cases     of     a     double     inferior     vena     cava.     Int     J     Androl.     2001;     24:     142-52. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11380703 (accessed March, 2013). 7 . Forte   F,   Latini   M,   Foti   N,   Sorrenti   S,   De   Antoni   E,   Virgili   G,   et   al.:   Bahren   types   III   and   IVa   testicular   vein   anomalies   as   a   reason   for   failure   in   left idiopathic     varicocele     retrograde     sclerotherapy.     Ontogenic     discussion     and     clinical     implications.     Surg     Radiol     Anat.     2001;     23:     427-31. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00276-001-0427-x?LI=true#page-1 . (accessed March, 2013). 8 . (An   article)   Development   of   the   Venous   System:   The   Inferior   Vena   Cava.   From   http://discovery.lifemapsc.com/PanskyBook/Chapter/126    (accessed March, 2013).