anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

, the fibular artery, also known as the peroneal artery, supplies blood to the

lateral compartment of the leg The lateral compartment of the leg is a fascial compartment of the lower leg. It contains muscles which make eversion and plantarflexion of the foot. Muscles The lateral compartment of the leg contains: * Fibularis longus * Fibularis brevis ...

. It arises from the

tibial-fibular trunk Tibiofibular trunk (or tibioperoneal trunk) is an arterial trunk representing the direct continuation of the popliteal artery distal to where the anterior tibial artery (the first branch of the popliteal artery) branches off from it. The tibiofibul ...

Structure

The fibular artery arises from the bifurcation of

into the fibular and posterior tibial arteries in the upper part of the leg proper, just below the knee. It runs towards the foot in the deep posterior compartment of the leg, just medial to the

fibula 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 supplies a perforating branch to both the lateral and anterior compartments of the leg; it also provides a nutrient artery to the fibula. Some sources claim that the fibular artery arises directly from the posterior tibial artery, but vascular and plastic surgeons note the clinical significance of the tibial-fibular trunk. The fibular artery is accompanied by small veins (

venae comitantes Vena comitans is Latin for accompanying vein. It refers to a vein that is usually paired, with both veins lying on the sides of an artery. They are found in close proximity to arteries so that the pulsations of the artery aid venous return. Be ...

) known as

fibular veins In anatomy, the fibular veins (also known as peroneal veins) are accompanying veins (venae comitantes) of the fibular artery. Structure The fibular veins are deep veins that help carry blood from the lateral compartment of the leg. They drain int ...

Branches

Communication branch to posterior tibial artery. Perforating branch to

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 ...

. A calcaneal branch to the lateral part of the

calcaneus In humans and many other primates, the calcaneus (; from the Latin ''calcaneus'' or ''calcaneum'', meaning heel) or heel bone is a bone of the tarsus of the foot which constitutes the heel. In some other animals, it is the point of the hock. S ...

Nomenclature

At one point in its history, both the Greek term ''perone'' and the Latin term ''fibula'' were competing to describe the smaller bone of the leg. Many of the arteries, veins, nerves, and muscles in the leg are named according to what bone they are near (e.g.

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 the

tibial nerve The tibial nerve is a branch of the sciatic nerve. The tibial nerve passes through the popliteal fossa to pass below the arch of soleus. Structure Popliteal fossa The tibial nerve is the larger terminal branch of the sciatic nerve with root val ...

are near the tibia). So the artery that runs near the smaller leg bone had two names: the ''peroneal artery'' and the ''fibular artery''. The term ''fibula'' eventually became the standard name for the bone, but many of the related arteries, muscles, and nerves are still called by the Greek derived name ''peroneal''. The

Terminologia Anatomica ''Terminologia Anatomica'' is the international standard for human anatomical terminology. It is developed by the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminology, a program of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomis ...

, the international standard for anatomical nomenclature, states that both ''fibula'' and ''perone'' derived names are acceptable, but lists the ''fibula'' derived names as the preferred terms. Like ''fibula'', the ''perone'' (pronounced pair-uh-knee) means ''pin of a brooch'' or ''buckle''.

References

Additional images

Image:Gray552.png, Circumpatellar anastomosis.

External links

*
Distal peroneal artery - is it an effective outflow source?
- Vascularweb.org * - "The Leg: Nerves and Vessels of the Deep Compartment of the Leg" {{Authority control Arteries of the lower limb