title: The blood supply of the common peroneal nerve in the popliteal fossa.
abstract: We investigated the blood supply of the common peroneal nerve. Dissection of 19 lower limbs, including six with intra-vascular injection of latex, allowed gross and microscopic measurements to be made of the blood supply of the common peroneal nerve in the popliteal fossa. This showed that a long segment of the nerve in the vicinity of the fibular neck contained only a few intraneural vessels of fine calibre. By contrast, the tibial nerve received an abundant supply from a constant series of vessels arising directly from the popliteal and posterior tibial arteries. The susceptibility of the common peroneal nerve to injury from a variety of causes and its lack of response to operative treatment may be explained by the tenuous nature of its intrinsic blood supply.
authors.affiliation: The University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Kadiyala
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Saltzman
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cassell
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010543:Peroneal Nerve / Q000098:blood supply*; D011150:Popliteal Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D011152:Popliteal Vein / Q000033:anatomy & histology*