596 A MANUAL OF ANA TOMY. 



third, and fourth spaces, resting upon the interosseous 

 muscles. At their beginning they communicate with 

 the plantar arch by means of the posterior perforating- 

 branches, and at the metatarsophalangeal articulations they 

 communicate with the corresponding plantar digital artery, 

 through the anterior perforating- branches. The inter- 

 osseous arteries then divide into the dorsal collateral digi- 

 tal vessels which supply adjacent sides of the dorsal surface 

 of the four outer toes. The outer side of the fifth toe be- 

 ing supplied by a small branch from the fourth dorsal inter- 

 osseous artery just before it bifurcates. 



The Dorsalis Hallucis artery is the continuation of the 

 dorsalis pedis to the metatarsophalangeal joint where it di- 

 vides into two collateral digital branches to the adjacent sides 

 of the first and second toes. The dorsalis hallucis commu- 

 nicates just before its division with the corresponding plan- 

 tar digital artery, and near this point gives off the dorsal 

 collateral digital branch to the inner side of the great toe. 

 This last branch is inconstant. 



The Communicating Artery. Fig. 125. 



This is a branch of bifurcation of the dorsalis pedis, and 

 corresponding to the first posterior perforating artery, passes 

 backward through the interval between the first and second 

 metatarsal bones to the sole of the foot, where it completes 

 the plantar arch by anastomosing with the external plantar. 

 It then continues forward as the fifth plantar digital artery, 

 between the first and second toes, receives the anterior per- 

 forating from the dorsalis hallucis, sends a branch to the 

 plantar surface of the inner side of the great toe, and 

 divides into the collateral digital (plantar) branches for 

 the contiguous sides of the first and second toes. 



