THE POPLITEAL ARTERY. 819 
the internal head of the gastrocnemius, to the inner side of the knee, where it turns 
forwards between the bone and the internal lateral ligament, and terminates anteriorly 
by anastomosing with its fellow of the opposite side, with the recurrent branch of the 
anterior tibial artery, and with the superior internal articular arter y: 
(ec) The azygos articular artery (a. genu media) passes directly forwards from the front 
of the popliteal artery, pierces 
the central part of the posterior 
ligament of the knee-joint, and 
enters the intercondylar space. Semitendinosus: ie Ys. i] Biceps 
It supplies branches to the crucial Sivotoe hes ON | : 
ligaments and to the synovial articular artery ~ 
membrane, and is accompanied — Muscular artery — 
by the azygos articular branch 
of the internal popliteal nerve, ts SS 
and sometimes by the genicular articular artery” 
branch of the obturator nerve. 
(3) Cutaneous branches are 
distributed to the skin over the 
popliteal space. One of these, 
the superficial sural artery, 
descends in the middle line 
Superior external 
articular artery 
~ Muscular artery 
Popliteal artery 
-Superior external 
articular artery 
Popliteus 
Anterior tibial 
artery 
Soleus 
Posterior tibial 
of the back of the calf along artery ~ Muscular artery 
with the external saphenous 
nerve. Nutrient artery — 
THE PostTERIOR TIBIAL 
ARTERY. 
— Flexor longus 
hallueis 
The posterior tibial artery 2 PS Pearse 
(a. tibialis posterior), the larger 
of the two terminal branches 
of the popliteal, commences at Se ee ze 
the lower border of the pop- ie 
liteus and terminates midway 
between the tip of the inner = "Epps 
malleolus and the most pro- 
minent part of the heel, at the 
lower border of the internal 
annular ligament. It ends by 
dividing into the internal and 
the external plantar arteries, 
which pass onwards to the sole communicating 
of the foot. artery” 
The artery runs downwards 
and inwards on the back of 
the leg between the superficial 
and deep layers of muscles, 
and covered by the deep inter- 
muscular fascia which inter- 
venes between them. 
Peroneal artery 
~Peroneus longus 
~Peroneus brevis 
‘Flexor longus hallucis 
“Posterior peroneal artery 
Calcanean artery 
Relations.— Anterior.—It is 
in contact in front, and from a gee ; " 
above downwards, with the tibi- 1G. 5/6.—THE POPLITEAL AND POSTERIOR TIBIAL ARTERIES 
Q : 4 AND THEIR BRANCHES. 
alis posticus, the flexor longus 
digitorum, the posterior surface of the tibia, and the posterior ligament of the ankle- 
joint. 
Posterior.—The artery is crossed about an inch and a-half below its origin by the 
posterior tibial nerve. Elsewhere it is in contact with the intermuscular fascia, which 
binds down the deep layer of muscles. More superficially the upper half of the artery is 
covered by the fleshy parts of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, between which is the 
plantaris ; the lower half of the artery is much nearer the surface, and is only covered by 
