The anterior tibial artery is an artery of the leg. It carries blood to the

anterior compartment of the leg The anterior compartment of the leg is a fascial compartment of the lower leg. It contains muscles that produce dorsiflexion and participate in inversion and eversion of the foot, as well as vascular and nervous elements, including the anterior ...

and dorsal surface of the

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

, from the popliteal artery.

Structure

Course

The anterior tibial artery is a branch of the popliteal artery. It 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 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 ...

muscles. It is accompanied by the anterior tibial vein, 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 anter ...

, along its course. It crosses the anterior aspect of the ankle joint, at which point it becomes the dorsalis pedis artery.

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

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 ...

, it becomes vulnerable to damage during a tibial osteotomy.

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