REGIONAL ANATOMY 



29 



Unlike the internal nerve, it is accompanied by a single 

 vessel only, the external metacarpal vein, behind which it 

 lies. At the level of the sesamoid bones it divides, as does 

 the internal nerve, into three main branches — the digital 

 nerves. 



Fig. 15. — The Veins and Nerves of the Foot. 



i. The digital vein; 2, its main tributaries, draining the podophyllous 

 plexus, and concurring to form the digital ; 3, the digital artery 

 (the main trunk only of this is shown, in order to show its 

 relationship with the vein and nerve) ; 4, the plantar nerve, with 

 its three branches — (a) the anterior digital, ( b ) the middle 

 digital, ( c) the posterior digital; 5, the podophyllous plexus; 

 6, superficial portion of the coronary plexus ; J, the peripheral 

 or circumflex vein of the toe. 



The Digital Nerves. — These are distinguished as 

 Anterior, Middle, and Posterior. 



The .-Interior Branch descends in front of the vein, dis- 

 tributing cutaneous branches to the front of the digit, and 

 terminating in the coronary cushion. 



