962 



NEUROLOGY 



Superior 

 gluteal 



Pudendal 



Nerve to 

 obturator internus 



Post. fern. _ 



cutaneous 



Perinea! 



branch 



Common 

 peroneal 



Peroneal 

 anastomolic 



Medial 

 calcaneal 



FIG. 832. Nerves of the right lower extremity 

 Posterior view. 



opposite the knee-joint, it is in close 

 relation with these vessels, and crosses 

 to the medial side of the artery. In the 

 leg it is covered in the upper part of 

 its course by the muscles of the calf; 

 lower down by the skin, the superficial 

 and deep fasciae. It is placed on the 

 deep muscles, and lies at first to the 

 medial side of the posterior tibial 

 artery, but soon crosses that vessel and 

 descends on its lateral side as far as 

 the ankle. In the lower third of the 

 leg it runs parallel with the medial 

 margin of the tendo calcaneus. 



The branches of this nerve are : artic- 

 ular, muscular, medial sural cutaneous, 

 medial calcaneal, medial and lateral 

 plantar. 



Articular branches (rami articulares) , 

 usually three in number, supply the 

 knee-joint; two of these accompany 

 the superior and inferior medial genic- 

 ular arteries; and a third, the middle 

 genicular artery. Just above the bi- 

 furcation of the nerve an articular 

 branch is given off to the ankle-joint. 



Muscular branches (rami musculares), 

 four or five in number, arise from the 

 nerve as it lies between the two heads 

 of the Gastrocnemius muscle; they 

 supply that muscle, and the Plantaris, 

 Soleus, and Popliteus. The branch 

 for the Popliteus turns around the lower 

 border and is distributed to the deep 

 surface of the muscle. Lower down, 

 muscular branches arise separately or 

 by a common trunk and supply the 

 Soleus, Tibialis posterior, Flexor digi- 

 torum longus, and Flexor hallucis 

 longus; the branch to the last muscle 

 accompanies the peroneal artery; that 

 to the Soleus enters the deep surface 

 of the muscle. 



The medial sural cutaneous nerve (n. 

 cutaneus suroe medialis; n. communi- 

 cans tibialis} descends between the 

 two heads of the Gastrocnemius, and, 

 about the middle of the back of the 

 leg, pierces the deep fascia, and unites 

 with the anastomotic ramus of the 

 common peroneal to form the sural 

 nerve (Fig. 830). 



1 N. B. In this diagram the medial sura cutaneous and peroneal anastomotic are not in their normal position. 

 They have been displaced by the removal of the superficial muscles. 



