THE LIMBS OF THE HOESE 127 



femoral or the popliteal vein is established through an anastomotic 

 vessel of some size. 



V. tarsea recuruens. — The recurrent tarsal vein follows the lateral 

 border of the tendon of the gastrocnemius, and ends by uniting with 

 the posterior femoral vein, which it gains by passing between the 

 biceps and the lateral head of the gastrocnemius. In the region of the 

 tarsus it communicates with the lateral metatarsal and recurrent 

 tibial veins. 



N". saphenus. — The skin over the medial aspect of the leg and 

 tarsus is supplied by branches of the saphenous nerve. 



K cutaneus SUR/E posterior (medialis). — As has been seen already, 

 the posterior cutaneous sural nerve is a branch of the tibial. It 

 accompanies the recurrent tarsal vein along the lateral head of the 

 gastrocnemius and the lateral border of the tendon of this muscle, and 

 supplies the skin over the posterior and lateral face of the leg, tarsus, 

 and metatarsus. 



N". cutaneus sur^e anterior (lateralis). — The anterior cutaneous 

 sural nerve, a branch of the common peroneal, pierces the biceps close 

 to the aponeurotic tendon of this muscle, and is distributed to the skin 

 over the lateral surface of the leg. 



K peron^eus superficialis. — The superficial peroneal, the smaller 

 of the two terminal branches of the common peroneal nerve, pierces 

 the fascia about the middle of the tibial region, and supplies the skin 

 over the anterior and lateral aspect of the leg, tarsus, and metatarsus. 

 Its muscular branch — to the long peroneal muscle — will be disclosed 

 at a later stage of the dissection. 



Fascia of the leg and tarsus. — The strong fascia of the leg 

 (fascia cruris) can be resolved into several layers, but whether to do 

 this is worth the while of the dissector is open to question. It is 

 probably sufficient to note that there is little difficulty in distinguishing 

 three layers. The most superficial layer is a continuation of the fascia 

 lata and the fascia of the medial surface of the thigh ; while the middle 

 layer is connected with the expanded tendons of the tensor fascia? 

 Iata3, biceps femoris, gracilis, sartorius, and semitendinosus muscles. 

 These two layers are closely associated with each other, and together 

 form a common investment for the muscles of the leg. They are firmly 

 attached to the tibia and blend with the ligaments of the patella, and, 

 distally, they are continuous with the fascia of the tarsus and meta- 

 tarsus. In addition, they are connected with the calcaneal attachment 

 of the biceps and semitendinosus muscles. 



The deepest layer of the fascia of the leg forms intimate sheaths 

 for the muscles, and furnishes intermuscular septa from which, not 



