Anterior compartment of leg

Anterior compartment of leg
Cross-section through middle of leg. Anterior compartment is shown right to the tibia.
Dissection video (2 min 44 s)
Details
Arteryanterior tibial artery
Nervedeep fibular nerve
Identifiers
Latincompartimentum cruris anterius
TA98A04.7.01.005
TA22643
FMA45163
Anatomical terminology

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 tibial artery and veins and the deep fibular nerve.

Muscles

The muscles of the compartment are:[1]

Image Muscle Origin Insertion Innervation Main Action
Tibialis anterior Lateral condyle and superior half of lateral surface of tibia and interosseous membrane Medial and inferior surfaces of medial cuneiform and base of 1st metatarsal Deep fibular (peroneal) nerve
(L4, L5)		 Dorsiflexes ankle and inverts foot
Extensor hallucis longus Middle part of anterior surface of fibula and interosseous membrane Dorsal aspect of base of distal phalanx of great toe (hallux) Extends great toe and dorsiflexes ankle
Extensor digitorum longus Lateral condyle of tibia and superior three quarters of medial surface of fibula and interosseous membrane Middle and distal phalanges of lateral four digits Extends lateral four digits and dorsiflexes ankle
Fibularis tertius Inferior third of anterior surface of fibula and interosseous membrane Dorsum of base of 5th metatarsal Dorsiflexes ankle and aids in eversion of foot

Function

The compartment contains muscles that are dorsiflexors and participate in inversion and eversion of the foot.[2]

Innervation and blood supply

The anterior compartment of the leg is supplied by the deep fibular nerve (deep peroneal nerve), a branch of the common fibular nerve. The nerve contains axons from the L4, L5, and S1 spinal nerves.

Blood for the compartment is supplied by the anterior tibial artery, which runs between the tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus muscles. When the artery crosses the extensor retinaculum, it changes its name to dorsalis pedis artery.[3]

Additional images

  • Anterior compartment. Animation.
    Anterior compartment. Animation.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Moore, Dally, and Agur (2014). Moore Clinically Oriented Anatomy, Table 5.10, p 591.
  2. ^ antlegdorsalfoot at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
  3. ^ "Vessels and lympatic drainage of the lower limb". Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anterior compartment of the human leg.