Anterior compartment of leg

Anterior compartment of leg
	Cross-section through middle of leg. Anterior compartment is shown right to the tibia.
	Dissection video (2 min 44 s)
Details
Artery	anterior tibial artery
Nerve	deep fibular nerve
Identifiers
Latin	Compartimentum cruris anterius
TA	A04.7.01.005
FMA	45163
	Anatomical terminology

The anterior compartment of the leg is a fascial compartment of the lower limb. It contains muscles that produce dorsiflexion and participate in inversion and eversion of the foot, as well as vascular and nervous elements including the anterior tibial artery and veins, and the deep fibular nerve.

Muscles

The muscles of the compartment are:[1]

Muscle	Proximal Attachment	Distal Attachment	Innervation	Main Action
Tibialis anterior	Lateral condyle and superior half of lateral surface of tibia and interosseous membrane	Medial and inferior surfaces of medial cuneiform and base of 1st metatarsal	Deep fibular (peroneal) nerve (L4, L5)	Dorsiflexes ankle and inverts foot
Extensor hallucis longus	Middle part of anterior surface of fibula and interosseous membrane	Dorsal aspect of base of distal phalanx of great toe (hallux)		Extends great toe and dorsiflexes ankle
Extensor digitorum longus	Lateral condyle of tibia and superior three quarters of medial surface of fibula and interosseous membrane	Middle and distal phalanges of lateral four digits		Extends lateral four digits and dorsiflexes ankle
Fibularis tertius	Inferior third of anterior surface of fibula and interosseous membrane	Dorsum of base of 5th metatarsal		Dorsiflexes ankle and aids in eversion of foot

Function

The compartment contains muscles that are dorsiflexors and participate in inversion and eversion of the foot.[2]

Innervation and blood supply

The anterior compartment of the leg is supplied by the deep fibular nerve (deep peroneal nerve), a branch of the common fibular nerve. The nerve contains axons from the L4, L5, and S1 spinal nerves.

Blood for the compartment is supplied by the anterior tibial artery, which runs between the tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus muscles. When the artery crosses the flexor retinaculum, it changes its name to dorsalis pedis artery.[3]

Additional images

Anterior compartment. Animation.

Notes and references

Moore, Dally, and Agur (2014). Moore Clinically Oriented Anatomy, Table 5.10, p 591.
antlegdorsalfoot at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
"Vessels and lympatic drainage of the lower limb". Retrieved 11 January 2015.

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