At this point, it should dawn on you the reason why the powers that be named a bean after a kidney. The kidneys are located on the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity, held securely in place by the tough capsules that surround them. The adrenals are located anterior to them. If you are interested in the ureters, excise the entire system, including the surrounding fat where the ureters are hiding, and fix it in situ. If the uterers are not your objective, simply remove the kidney and adrenal together. The kidney is surrounded by its capsule and you get the pleasure of removing it for fixation purposes if you like. Being careful not to gouge the kidney, slide the tips of your scissors underneath the clear, thin layer of the capsule near the renal pelvis and slip it off. It is very similar to taking the coat off of the kidney bean or any other bean. The cortex of the kidney is firmly granular or "dotted" looking. It should have a rich, brownish red color and be firm in consistency. And of course, place it in fixative after examination. A great safety net with this step is the fact that there are two kidneys. If you mess up one of them, you get a second chance with the other. But to be on the safe side, take both kidneys.
The adrenal ideally should be attached to the removed capsule. It might be a good idea to keep the capsule and the adrenal attached to the kidney at the hilis for a few reasons. Chances are the histology people will not write off the adrenal as "junk" if it is associated with the kidney visually. Secondly, in the surrounding fat excised with the kidney, lie the renal nodes and you just might find them handy. A quick note, the male adrenal is larger than that of the female. So be careful in making any qualitative observations!!!
