Anterior Tibial Artery

Author: Dr Peter de Souza
Last modified: 13 December 2020

Anterior Tibial Artery

The structure indicated is the anterior tibial artery of the leg.

The anterior tibial artery is a branch of the popliteal artery, which supplies the anterior compartment of the leg. The popliteal artery arises from the superficial femoral artery as it passes from the anterior compartment of the thigh to the posterior compartment via the adductor hiatus – an opening in the distal adductor magnus muscle. The popliteal artery gives rise to two branches, the anterior tibial artery and the posterior tibial artery. The anterior tibial artery passes through an opening superiorly in the interosseous membrane between the tibia and the fibula.

The anterior tibial artery descends the length of the leg, accompanied by the tibial vein, and becomes the dorsal pedis artery on the dorsal surface of the foot.

The anterior tibial artery has the following branches:

  • Anterior tibial recurrent artery
  • Posterior tibial recurrent artery
  • Anterior medial malleolar artery
  • Anterior lateral malleolar artery
  • Muscular branches
  • Perforating branches