Anatomy study note · Lower limb

Plantar arteries

The medial and lateral plantar arteries are the terminal branches of the posterior tibial artery in the sole.

Key points

• Lateral plantar artery forms the plantar arch.
• Arch completed by the deep plantar branch of dorsalis pedis.
• Plantar metatarsal arteries to the toes.
• Lower limb axis artery: 5th lumbar intersegmental.
• Femoral artery is a new vessel.
• Artery: intima / media (smooth muscle) / adventitia.
• Most named arteries are muscular; aorta is elastic.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Histology · Development

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 1380–1383
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 15, PDF p. 258
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 197–199

More from the lower limb

• Plantar nerves
• Plantaris
• Popliteal artery
• Popliteal lymph nodes
• Popliteal vein
• Popliteus
• Posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh
• Posterior tibial artery
• Profunda femoris artery
• Quadriceps femoris
• Retinacula of the ankle
• Saphenous nerve

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