[Descriptive and topographical anatomy of the dorsal artery of the foot].

The authors studied the course of the A. dorsalis pedis in 67 specimens cleared up with formalin and injected with terpentine and minium. The classical statement was found in 44 cases (2/3): the A. dorsalis pedis following the course of the A. Tibialis arise in front of the upper edge of the retinaculum extensorum, ran through the first intermetatarsal space and anastomosed with the A. plantaris lateralis. In 15 cases, it divided into 2 terminale branches - A. dorsalis medialis and lateralis - at 2-3 cm cm beyond its origin. In 6 cases, the artery was tiny and the arterial supply of the dorsum of the foot was mainly provided by both the lateral malleolar and the fibular arteries. Twice, the A. dorsalis pedis ran down into the second intermetatarsal space. The knowledge of these individual variations is to be pointed out by arteriography before using either M. extensor digitorum brevis or skin of the dorsum of the foot as flaps for covering cutaneous defects at the bindfoot.