Medial plantar artery arising from popliteal artery

Lennox S.B. FRANCIS

Abstract

I report a unique case with bilateral aberrant medial plantar arteries observed during cadaveric dissection. A thorough search of the literature did not come up with any other reported cases. The variant arteries arose from the popliteal arteries bilaterally, ran in the deep posterior compartment of the leg, parallel and medial to the posterior tibial artery and maintaining this position entered the neurovascular compartment under the flexor retinaculum. Below the flexor retinaculum the tibial nerve split into the medial and lateral plantar nerves, with the aberrant artery accompanying the medial plantar nerve and the posterior tibial artery becoming the lateral plantar artery. The arteries were marginal to the nerves as they passed laterally and under cover of the abductor hallucis muscle to enter the foot, running between the first and second layers of the muscles of the sole. I will be looking at the clinical importance of this variation.