The anterior tibial artery is an artery of the
leg
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ca ...
. It carries blood to the
anterior compartment of the leg and
dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to:
* Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism
* Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage
* Dorsal c ...
surface of the
foot, from the
popliteal artery
The popliteal artery is a deeply placed continuation of the femoral artery opening in the distal portion of the adductor magnus muscle. It courses through the popliteal fossa and ends at the lower border of the popliteus muscle, where it branche ...
.
Structure
Course
The anterior tibial artery is a branch of the
popliteal artery
The popliteal artery is a deeply placed continuation of the femoral artery opening in the distal portion of the adductor magnus muscle. It courses through the popliteal fossa and ends at the lower border of the popliteus muscle, where it branche ...
.
It originates at the distal end of the
popliteus
The popliteus muscle in the leg is used for unlocking the knees when walking, by laterally rotating the femur on the tibia during the closed chain portion of the gait cycle (one with the foot in contact with the ground). In open chain movements ...
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
The tibialis anterior muscle is a muscle in humans that originates along the upper two-thirds of the lateral (outside) surface of the tibia and inserts into the medial cuneiform and first metatarsal bones of the foot. It acts to dorsiflex and inve ...
and
extensor digitorum longus
The extensor digitorum longus is a pennate muscle, situated at the lateral part of the front of the leg.
Origin and insertion
It arises from the lateral condyle of the tibia; from the upper three-quarters of the anterior surface of the body of t ...
muscles.
It is accompanied by the
anterior tibial vein
The anterior tibial vein is a vein in the lower leg.
In human anatomy, there are two anterior tibial veins. They originate and receive blood from the dorsal venous arch, on the back of the foot and empties into the popliteal vein.
The anterior t ...
, and the
deep peroneal nerve
The deep fibular nerve (also known as deep peroneal nerve) begins at the bifurcation of the common fibular nerve between the fibula and upper part of the fibularis longus, passes infero-medially, deep to the extensor digitorum longus, to the anteri ...
, along its course.
It crosses the anterior aspect of the
ankle joint
The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...
, at which point it becomes the
dorsalis pedis artery
In human anatomy, the dorsalis pedis artery (dorsal artery of foot) is a blood vessel of the lower limb. It arises from the anterior tibial artery, and ends at the first intermetatarsal space (as the first dorsal metatarsal artery and the deep pl ...
.
Branches
The branches of the anterior tibial artery are:
*
posterior tibial recurrent artery
The posterior tibial recurrent artery, an inconstant branch, is given off from the anterior tibial before that vessel passes through the gap between superior tibio-fibular joint and upper border of interosseous membrane.
It ascends in front of th ...
*
anterior tibial recurrent artery
*
muscular branches
*
anterior medial malleolar artery
*
anterior lateral malleolar artery
The anterior lateral malleolar artery (lateral anterior malleolar artery, external malleolar artery) is an artery in the ankle.
The anterior lateral malleolar artery is a branch of the anterior tibial artery. It passes beneath the tendons of the ...
*
dorsalis pedis artery
In human anatomy, the dorsalis pedis artery (dorsal artery of foot) is a blood vessel of the lower limb. It arises from the anterior tibial artery, and ends at the first intermetatarsal space (as the first dorsal metatarsal artery and the deep pl ...
Clinical significance
As the artery passes medial to the
fibular neck
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...
, it becomes vulnerable to damage during a tibial
osteotomy
An osteotomy is a surgical operation whereby a bone is cut to shorten or lengthen it or to change its alignment. It is sometimes performed to correct a hallux valgus, or to straighten a bone that has healed crookedly following a fracture. It is ...
.
Additional images
Image:Gray346.png, Right knee-joint. Posterior view.
Image:Gray440_color.png, Cross-section through middle of leg.
Image:Thigh arteries schema.svg, Schema of the arteries of the thigh. Anterior tibial artery is labeled at the bottom.
File:Slide1RRRR.JPG, Anterior tibial artery
File:Slide7RRRR.JPG, Anterior tibial artery
File:Slide18wwww.JPG, Anterior tibial artery
Reference
External links
* - "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
{{Authority control
Arteries of the lower limb