The duct of Bellini is an anatomical structure of the kidneys, also known as papillary (collecting) duct.

The straight or collecting tubes commence in the radiate part of the renal cortex

Renal cortex

The renal cortex is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. In the adult, it forms a continuous smooth outer zone with a number of projections that extend down between the pyramids. It contains the renal corpuscles and the renal tubules except for parts of...

, where they receive the curved ends of the distal convoluted tubule

Distal convoluted tubule

The distal convoluted tubule is a portion of kidney nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct system.- Physiology :It is partly responsible for the regulation of potassium, sodium, calcium, and pH...

s.

They unite at short intervals with one another, the resulting tubes presenting a considerable increase in caliber, so that a series of comparatively large tubes passes from the bases of the medullary ray

Medullary ray (anatomy)

In anatomy, the medullary ray is the middle part of the cortical lobule or renal lobule, consisting of a group of straight tubes to the collecting ducts.Their name is potentially misleading -- the "medullary" refers to their destination, not their location...

s into the renal pyramids

Renal pyramids

Renal pyramids are cone-shaped tissues of the kidney. The renal medulla is made up of 7 to 18 of these conical subdivisions . The broad base of each pyramid faces the renal cortex, and its apex, or papilla, points internally...

.

In the medulla the tubes of each pyramid converge to join a central tube, the duct of Bellini, which finally opens on the summit of one of the renal papilla

Renal papilla

In the kidney, the renal papilla is the location where the medullary pyramids empty urine into the minor calyx. Histologically it is marked by medullary collecting ducts converging to form a duct of Bellini to channel the fluid. Transitional epithelium begins to be seen.-Role in disease:Some...

e; the contents of the tube are therefore discharged into one of the renal calyces.

Eponym

So named in honor of its discoverer, Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 anatomist Lorenzo Bellini

Lorenzo Bellini

Lorenzo Bellini , Italian physician and anatomist, was born at Florence on the September 3, 1643. At the age of twenty, when he had already begun his researches on the structure of the kidneys and had described the papillary ducts , as published in his book Exercitatio Anatomica de Structura Usu...

(1643-1704).

Cancer of Bellini's Duct

Collecting duct, or Bellini's duct, carcinoma is a relatively rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), accounting for less than 1% of all RCCs ( Kennedy et al, 1990 ; Rumpelt et al, 1991 ; Carter et al, 1992 ; Störkel et al, 1997 ; Srigley and Eble, 1998 ; Swartz et al, 2002 ). Many reported cases have occurred in younger patients, often in the third, fourth, or fifth decade of life ( Carter et al, 1992 ). Collecting duct carcinomas are derived from the medulla, but many are infiltrative, and extension into the cortex is common ( Pickhardt et al, 2001 ).
Most reported cases have been high grade and advanced stage and have not responded to conventional therapies ( Carter et al, 1992 ; Chao et al, 2002b ; Polascik et al, 2002 ; Mejean et al, 2003 ; Tokuda et al, 2004 ).
Most patients are symptomatic at presentation ( Tokuda et al, 2004 ). Immunohistochemical and molecular analyses suggest that collecting duct RCC may resemble transitional cell carcinoma, and some patients with advanced collecting duct RCC have responded to cisplatin- or gemcitabine-based chemotherapy ( Milowsky et al, 2002 ; Peyromaure et al, 2003 )