human anatomy Human anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, "dissection", from ἀνά, "up", and τέμνειν, "cut") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross ...

, the dorsalis pedis artery (dorsal artery of foot) is a

blood vessel Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many Animal, animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the Tissue (biology), tissues of a Body (bi ...

of the

lower limb Lower may refer to: *Lower (album), ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also

*Nizhny {{Disambiguation ...

. It arises from the

anterior tibial artery The anterior tibial artery is an artery of the leg. It carries blood to the anterior compartment of the leg and dorsal surface of the foot, from the popliteal artery. Structure Course The anterior tibial artery is a branch of the popliteal ...

, and ends at the first intermetatarsal space (as the first dorsal metatarsal artery and the deep plantar artery). It carries oxygenated blood to the

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 The fus ...

side 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 an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...

. It is useful for taking a

pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...

. It is also at risk during

anaesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...

of the deep peroneal nerve.

Structure

The dorsalis pedis artery is located 1/3 from

medial malleolus A malleolus is the bony prominence on each side of the human ankle. Each leg is supported by two bones, the tibia on the inner side (medial) of the leg and the fibula on the outer side (lateral) of the leg. The medial malleolus is the promin ...

of the

ankle The ankle, 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 joint. The ...

. It arises at the anterior aspect of the ankle joint and is a continuation of the

. It ends at the proximal part of the first intermetatarsal space. Here, it divides into two branches, the first dorsal metatarsal artery, and the deep plantar artery. It is covered by skin and fascia, but is fairly superficial. The dorsalis pedis communicates with the plantar blood supply of the foot through the deep plantar artery. Along its course, it is accompanied by a

deep vein A deep vein is a vein that is deep in the body. This contrasts with superficial veins that are close to the body's surface. Deep veins are almost always beside an artery with the same name (e.g. the femoral vein is beside the femoral artery). ...

, the dorsalis pedis vein.

Function

The dorsalis pedis artery supplies oxygenated blood to the

side of the

Clinical significance

Pulse

The dorsalis pedis artery

can be

palpated Palpation is the process of using one's hands to check the body, especially while perceiving/diagnosing a disease or illness. Usually performed by a health care practitioner, it is the process of feeling an object in or on the body to determine ...

readily lateral to the extensor hallucis longus

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...

(or medially to the

extensor digitorum longus The extensor digitorum longus is a pennate muscle, situated at the lateral part of the front of the leg. Structure It arises from the lateral condyle of the tibia; from the upper three-quarters of the anterior surface of the body of the fibula; ...

tendon) on the dorsal surface of the

, distal to the dorsal most prominence of the

navicular bone The navicular bone is a small bone found in the feet of most mammals. Human anatomy The navicular bone in humans is one of the tarsus (skeleton), tarsal bones, found in the foot. Its name derives from the human bone's resemblance to a small ...

which serves as a reliable landmark for palpation. It is often examined, by

physicians A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

, when assessing whether a given patient has

peripheral vascular disease Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a vascular disorder that causes abnormal narrowing of arteries other than those that supply the heart or brain. PAD can happen in any blood vessel, but it is more common in the legs than the arms. When narro ...

. It is absent, unilaterally or bilaterally, in 2–3% of young healthy individuals.

Ultrasound

The dorsalis pedis artery may be studied using

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

Doppler ultrasound Doppler ultrasonography is medical ultrasonography that employs the Doppler effect to perform imaging of the movement of tissues and body fluids (usually blood), and their relative velocity to the probe. By calculating the frequency shift of a ...

can be used to investigate blood flow.

Local anaesthesia

The dorsalis pedis artery is at risk when injecting

anaesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

into the deep peroneal nerve.

Ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

can be used to help to avoid the artery. The injection site is just lateral to the artery.

References

External links

* - "Arteries of the lower extremity shown in association with major landmarks."
Image at umich.edu
* http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/figures/chapter_17/17-3.HTM {{Authority control Arteries of the lower limb