The vessels of the first metatarsal web space. An operative and radiographic study.

In seventy surgical dissections of the vessels in the first web space of the foot, the arterial supply to the big toe and second toe was categorized. There were seven patterns of arterial supply, and three types of venous drainage were found. In twenty feet that were selected at random an arteriographic study was done, but it failed to provide information of the accuracy required to categorize the anatomical arterial pattern. Comparison of our series with a smaller, previously published series revealed significant differences in the arterial patterns and their frequencies of occurrence.