title: Normal Variants: Accessory Muscles About the Ankle.
abstract: Accessory muscles around the ankle are commonly encountered as incidental findings on cross-sectional imaging. Mostly asymptomatic, accessory muscles sometimes mimic mass lesions. They have been implicated as the cause of tarsal tunnel syndrome, impingement of surrounding structures, and chronic pain. Distinguishing these muscles can be challenging, because some travel along a similar path. This article describes these accessory muscles in detail, including their relationships to the aponeurosis of the lower leg. An imaging algorithm is proposed to aid in identification of these muscles, providing a valuable tool in diagnostic accuracy and subsequent patient management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA. Electronic address: Yvonne.Y.Cheung@hitchcock.org.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheung
mesh_terms: D000842:Ankle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012016:Reference Values
keywords: Accessory muscles; Accessory soleus; Ankle; Flexor digitorum accessorius longus; Peroneocalcaneus internus; Peroneus quartus; Tibiocalcaneus internus