What is the upper expanded portion of the ureter located at the hilum, posterior to blood vessels?

What is the upper expanded portion of the ureter located at the hilum, posterior to blood vessels?

• A. Renal calyx
• B. Renal hilum
• C. Renal pelvis
• D. Renal papilla

Answer: (C)

Renal pelvis. At the kidney hilum, the ureter enlarges into the renal pelvis, a funnel-shaped reservoir that collects urine from the major calyces before it continues down the ureter. This pelvic portion lies posterior to the renal vessels as they pass through the hilum. The other structures serve different roles: calyces are the cup-shaped channels that drain urine from papillae into the pelvis, the papilla is the apex of a renal pyramid, and the hilum is the medial entrance/exit for vessels and the beginning of the pelvis, not the expanded ureter itself.

Renal pelvis. At the kidney hilum, the ureter enlarges into the renal pelvis, a funnel-shaped reservoir that collects urine from the major calyces before it continues down the ureter. This pelvic portion lies posterior to the renal vessels as they pass through the hilum. The other structures serve different roles: calyces are the cup-shaped channels that drain urine from papillae into the pelvis, the papilla is the apex of a renal pyramid, and the hilum is the medial entrance/exit for vessels and the beginning of the pelvis, not the expanded ureter itself.