Anterior Leg – Overview of Arterial Supply to Lower Limb

00:01 We can see that here. Now, we look at the anterior leg.

00:04 Here, we can pick up the anterior tibial artery. This is going to be formed again at the inferior border of popliteus as the popliteal artery bifurcated. It passes through the superior aperture and then runs down deep within the anterior compartment of the leg. Eventually, it will come and give dorsalis pedis as its direct continuation. So the anterior tibial artery, it provides arterial blood to the anterior compartment of the leg and the dorsum of the foot. It passes deep through the superior aperture of the interosseous membrane to enter the anterior compartment, and this descends along the anterior border of the interosseous membrane. At the ankle joint, between the two malleoli, it becomes the dorsalis pedis artery and supplies the dorsum of the foot. But we can also see, as it’s running down here, we’ve got this perforating branch of the fibular artery. So the perforating branch, the fibular artery, enters the anterior compartment and goes onto the dorsum of the foot through the inferior aperture of the interosseous membrane. And here, there’s the potential for anastomosis between the anterior tibial and the perforating fibular artery, again, allowing continuous blood supply if some arteries were to be compromised.