Anterior tibial artery
| Anterior tibial artery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Source | popliteal artery |
| Branches |
post. tibial recurrent ant. tibial recurrent musc. branches ant. medial malleolar ant. lateral malleolar dorsalis pedis |
| Vein | anterior tibial vein |
| Supplies | anterior compartment of the leg |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | arteria tibialis anterior |
| Dorlands /Elsevier | a_61/12156393 |
| TA | A12.2.16.042 |
| FMA | 43894 |
The anterior tibial artery of the leg carries blood to the anterior compartment of the leg and dorsal surface of the foot, from the popliteal artery.
It is accompanied the anterior tibial vein, along its course.
It crosses the anterior aspect of the ankle joint, at which point it becomes the dorsalis pedis artery.
Course
The artery originates at the distal end of the popliteus muscle posterior to the tibia. The artery typically passes anterior to the popliteus muscle prior to passing between the tibia and fibula through an oval opening at the superior aspect of the interosseus membrane. The artery then descends between the tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus muscles.
Branches
The branches of the anterior tibial artery are:
- posterior tibial recurrent artery
- anterior tibial recurrent artery
- muscular branches
- anterior medial malleolar artery
- anterior lateral malleolar artery
- dorsalis pedis artery
Clinical importance
As the artery passes medial to the fibular neck it becomes vulnerable to damage during a tibial osteotomy.
Additional images
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Right knee-joint. Posterior view.
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Cross-section through middle of leg.
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Schema of the arteries of the thigh. Anterior tibial artery is labeled at the bottom.
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Anterior tibial artery
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Anterior tibial artery
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Anterior tibial artery
External links
- Gray's s157 - The Arteries of the Lower Extremity
- Gray's s95 - Ankle joint
- Anatomy figure: 12:04-15 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Arteries of the lower extremity shown in association with major landmarks."
- http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/figures/chapter_15/15-10.HTM
- http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/figures/chapter_17/17-3.HTM
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