Posterior tibial artery.

The posterior tibial artery (a. tibialis posterior) is a continuation of the popliteal artery, passes through the tibialis popliteal canal, which leaves under the medial edge of the soleus muscle. Then the artery deviates to the medial side, goes to the medial malleolus, behind which in a separate fibrous canal under the retainer of the flexor tendons it passes to the sole. At this point, the posterior tibial artery is covered only by fascia and skin. Branches of the posterior tibial artery:

1. Muscular branches (rr. musculares) go to the muscles of the leg.
2. The circumflex fibular artery (r. circumflexus fibularis) branches off from the posterior tibial artery at its very beginning, goes to the shin of the fibula, supplies blood to the adjacent muscles; anastomoses with the genicular arteries.
3. The fibular artery (a. fibularis, s. peronea) runs laterally under the long flexor of the big toe (adjacent to the fibula), then downwards and penetrates the inferior muscular-fibular canal. Passing along the posterior surface of the interosseous membrane of the leg, the artery supplies the triceps surae muscle, the long and short peroneus muscles. Further, the artery behind the lateral malleolus of the fibula divides into its terminal branches: the lateral malleolar branches (rr. malleolares laterales) and the calcaneal branches (rr. calcanei), which participate in the formation of the calcaneal network (rete calcaneum). The peroneal artery also gives off a perforating branch (r. perforans), which anastomoses with the lateral anterior malleolar artery (from the anterior tibial artery), and a communicating branch (r. communicans), which connects the peroneal artery with the posterior tibial artery in the lower third of the leg.
4. The medial plantar artery (a. plantaris medialis) is one of the terminal branches of the posterior tibial artery. It passes under the muscle that abducts the big toe, lies in the medial groove of the sole, where it divides into a superficial and a deep branch (rr. superfacialis et profundus). The superficial branch supplies the muscle that abducts the big toe, and the deep branch supplies the same muscle and the short flexor of the fingers. The medial plantar artery anastomoses with the first dorsal metatarsal artery.
5. The lateral plantar artery (a. plantaris lateralis) is larger than the previous one, passes in the lateral groove of the sole to the base of the 5th metatarsal bone, bends in the medial direction and forms a deep plantar arch (arcus plantaris profundus) at the level of the base of the metatarsal bones. The arch ends at the lateral edge of the 1st metatarsal bone by anastomosis with the deep plantar artery - a branch of the dorsalis pedis artery, as well as with the medial plantar artery. The lateral plantar artery gives off branches to the muscles, bones and ligaments of the foot.

The plantar metatarsal arteries (aa. metatarsalis plantares, 1-4 in total) branch off from the deep plantar arch. The perforating branches of the dorsal metatarsal arteries flow into these arteries in the interosseous spaces. The plantar metatarsal arteries, in turn, give off perforating branches (rr. perforantes) to the dorsal metatarsal arteries.

Each plantar metatarsal artery passes into the common plantar digital artery (a. digitalis plantaris communis). At the level of the proximal phalanges of the toes, each common plantar digital artery (except the first) divides into two proper plantar digital arteries (aa. digitales plantares propriae). The first common plantar digital artery branches into three proper digital arteries: to the two sides of the big toe and to the medial side of the second toe, and the second, third and fourth arteries supply blood to the sides of the second, third, fourth and fifth toes facing each other. At the level of the heads of the metatarsal bones, perforating branches separate from the common plantar digital arteries to the dorsal digital arteries.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ]