VH Dissector: Lower Limb: Popliteal Fossa

Focus on the posterior knee

Add the Femoral Artery

Add the Femoral Vein.

Add the Adductor magnus muscle. The membrane between the adductor magnusand the femur provides a portal to the politeal fossa - the Adductor hiatus.

Add the Popliteal Artery which enters the fossa through the adductor hiatus as a direct continuation of the femoral artery.

Add the superior lateral genicular artery

Add the superior medial genicular artery.

Add the inferior lateral genicular artery.

Add the inferior medial genicular artery

Add the Popliteus muscle.

Add the anterior tibial artery and the posterior tibial artery, which divide the popliteal artery at the inferior border of the popliteus muscle

Add the popliteal vein, which ascends through the popliteal fossa crossing from medial to lateral side of the popliteal artery. It is always superifical to the popliteal artery. It enters the adductor canal through the adductor hiatus where it is now known as the femoral vein.

Add the Posterior Tibial Vein

Add the Small Saphenous Vein which pierces the popliteal fascia and drains into the popliteal vein. Rotate the cadaver to visualize this connection.

Add the sciatic jerve which ends at the superior angle of the popliteal fossa (usually but not always) by dividing into its terminal branches: tibial and common fibular (peroneal) nerves.

Add the tibial nerve, which is the larger of the two terminal branches of the sciatic nerve. The motor portion of the tibial nerve supplies the muscles of the superficial and deep posterior compartments. The terminal branches of the tibial nerve the medial and lateral plantar nerves, provide sensory and motor innervation to the plantar aspect of the foot.

Add the sural nerve. The medial sural nerve branches off of the tibial nerve and joins with a communicating branch from the common fibular nerve to form the sural nerve. 

The medial sural nerve is cutaneous and supplies the skin of the proximal lateral calf. 

The sural nerve provides sensation for the rest of the lateral calf to the lateral ankle and the base of the fifth metatarsal.

Add the Common Fibular (Peroneal) Nerve, which is smaller of the two terminal branches of the sciatic nerve. Injury to this nerve results in the classic clinical presentation of foot drop.

It provides a communicating sensory branch to the medial sural nerve to form the sural nerve. Additionally, it has a lateral sural nerve that supply sensory to a small area of the proximal lateral leg.

As it spirals around the neck of the anterior fibula, it divides into a superficial fibular (peroneal) and deep fibular (peroneal) nerve.

Injury to the fibular nerve results in the classic clinical presentation of foot drop.

Be careful not to confuse peroneal with perineal. You will learn about the perineum when you study the pelvis. Peroneal means fibular - for my Spanish speakers, remember that "el peroné" translates to "the fibula"

Add the Deep Fibular Nerve, which innervates the muscles of the anterior compartment of the leg and two muscles that originate on the dorsum of the foot. It also receives sensory input from the first web space between the great toe and second toe.

Add the biceps femoris muscle, which forms the superolateral border

Add the semimembranosus and semitendinosus muscles, which forms the superomedial border.

Add the gastrocnemius muscle, which forms the inferolateral and Inferomedial borders.

Here is a more superior cross-section. Which muscles are present? Which nerves, arteries, and veins can you find? Hover your mouse over a structure, and if your application is in dissect or highlight, it will tell you the name of that strutre.

Here is a more inferior cross-section.