The common fibular nerve (also known as the common peroneal nerve, external popliteal nerve, or lateral popliteal nerve) is a nerve in the lower leg that provides sensation over the posterolateral part of the leg and the knee joint. It divides at the knee into two terminal branches: the

superficial fibular nerve The superficial fibular nerve (also known as superficial peroneal nerve) innervates the fibularis longus and fibularis brevis muscles and the skin over the antero-lateral aspect of the leg along with the greater part of the dorsum of the foot (wit ...

and

deep fibular 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 ante ...

, which innervate the muscles of the lateral and anterior compartments of the leg respectively. When the common fibular nerve is damaged or compressed,

foot drop Foot drop is a gait abnormality in which the dropping of the forefoot happens due to weakness, irritation or damage to the deep fibular nerve (deep peroneal), including the sciatic nerve, or paralysis of the muscles in the anterior portion of t ...

can ensue.

Structure

The common fibular nerve is the smaller terminal branch of the sciatic nerve. The common fibular nerve has root values of L4, L5, S1, and S2. It arises from the superior angle of the

popliteal fossa The popliteal fossa (also referred to as hough, .html" ;"title="/sup>">/sup> or kneepit in analogy to the cubital fossa) is a shallow depression located at the back of the knee joint. The bones of the popliteal fossa are the femur and the tibia ...

and extends to the lateral angle of the popliteal fossa, along the medial border of the

biceps femoris The biceps femoris () is a muscle of the thigh located to the posterior, or back. As its name implies, it has two parts, one of which (the long head) forms part of the hamstrings muscle group. Structure It has two heads of origin: *the ''long ...

. It then winds around the neck of the fibula to pierce the

fibularis longus In human anatomy, the fibularis longus (also known as peroneus longus) is a superficial muscle in the lateral compartment of the leg. It acts to tilt the sole of the foot away from the midline of the body ( eversion) and to extend the foot downwar ...

and divides into terminal branches of the

and the

. Before its division, the common fibular nerve gives off several branches in the popliteal fossa.

Cutaneous branches

Lateral sural cutaneous nerve The lateral sural cutaneous nerve of the lumbosacral plexus supplies the skin on the posterior and lateral surfaces of the leg. The lateral sural cutaneous nerve originates from the common fibular nerve''(L4-S2)'' and is the terminal branch o ...

(lateral cutaneous nerve of calf) - supplies the skin of the upper two-thirds of the lateral side of leg. * sural communicating nerve - it runs on the posterolateral aspect of the calf and joins the

sural nerve The sural nerve ''(L4-S1)'' is generally considered a pure cutaneous nerve of the posterolateral leg to the lateral ankle. The sural nerve originates from a combination of either the sural communicating branch and medial sural cutaneous nerve, or ...

Articular branches

* Superior lateral genicular nerve - accompanies artery of the same name and lies above the lateral femoral condyle. * Inferior lateral genicular nerve - accompanies artery of the same name and lies just above the head of 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 ...

. * Recurrent genicular nerve - It arises from the point of division of the common fibular nerve; then ascends anterior to the knee joint together with the anterior recurrent tibial artery to supply the knee joint and the tibialis anterior muscle.

Motor branches

There is only one motor branch that arises directly from the common fibular nerve, the nerve to the short head of the biceps femoris muscle.

Function

The common fibular nerve innervates the short head of the

muscle via a motor branch that exits close to the gluteal cleft. The remainder of the fibular-innervated muscles are innervated by its branches, the

and

. It provides sensory innervation to the skin over the upper third of the lateral aspect of the leg via the lateral sural cutaneous nerve. It gives the aural communicating nerve which joins the

in the midcalf.

Clinical significance

Chronic fibular (peroneal) neuropathy can result from, among other conditions, bed rest of long duration, hyperflexion of the knee, peripheral neuropathy, pressure in obstetric stirrups, and conditioning in ballet dancers. The most common cause is habitual leg crossing that compresses the common fibular nerve as it crosses around the neck of the fibula. Transient trauma to the nerve can result from

peroneal strike A peroneal strike is a temporarily disabling blow to the common fibular (peroneal) nerve of the leg, just above the knee. The attacker aims roughly a hand span above the exterior side of the knee, towards the back of the leg. This causes a tempora ...

. Damage to this nerve typically results in

, where dorsiflexion of the foot is compromised and the foot drags (the toe points) during walking; and in sensory loss to the dorsal surface of the foot and portions of the anterior, lower-lateral leg. A common

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

kneeling exercise, the

Vajrasana Vajrasana (Sanskrit for "diamond seat" or "diamond throne") may refer to: * The Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya, India where Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment * Vajrasana (yoga) Vajrasana (), Thunderbolt Pose, or Diamond Pose, is a kneeling asana in h ...

, has been linked to a variant called yoga foot drop. Surgical procedures involving the nerve involve: * fibular (peroneal) nerve decompression ** To surgically decompress the common fibular nerve, an incision is made over the neck of the fibula. Fascia surrounding the nerves to the lateral side of the leg is released. * Deep fibular (peroneal) nerve decompression ** In the surgical treatment of deep fibular nerve entrapment in the foot, a ligament from the extensor digitorum brevis muscle that crosses over the deep fibular nerve, putting pressure on it and causing pain, is released.

Autopsy

Rembrandt - The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp

Anatomists are taught not to divide this nerve during its revealing. (Considering the fact that the most of them exploit this knowledge during their surgical praxis.)https://www.neurologiepropraxi.cz/pdfs/neu/2008/01/07.pdf "Na poranění se podílejí lékaři všech oborů, nejvíc přirozeně poškozují periferní nervy chirurgové."

Additional images

File:Gray826and831.svg, Front and posterior views of cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity File:Tibial and fibular nerve.jpg, Common fibular (peroneal) nerve File:Slide3i.JPG, Common fibular (peroneal) nerve File:Slide5j.JPG, Common fibular (peroneal) nerve

References

External links

* * * *
arteries-nerves%20LE/nerves4
at the

Dartmouth Medical School The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth is the graduate medical school of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fourth oldest medical school in the United States, it was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith. It is o ...

's Department of Anatomy
Overview at okstate.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Common Fibular Nerve Nerves of the lower limb and lower torso