COMMON PERONEAL NERVE

SUMMARY

1. Origin: L4, L5, S1, S2.

2. One of two branches of the sciatic nerve (the other is the Tibial nerve), slopes downwards medial to the biceps tendon to enter the substance of the peroneus longus where it lies on the neck of the fibula.

3. Motor supply responsible for dorsi-flexion & eversion of the foot (mnemonic PED DROPS: peroneal everts and dorsiflexes, IF INJURED foot drops)

4. Sensory: supplies skin over extensor & peroneal compartments, dorsum of foot (except lateral side).

5. Articular: upper & lower genicular branches supply the knees.


Image: Gray, Henry. Anatomy of the Human Body. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1918; Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/107/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2019].

Reference(s)

R.M.H McMinn (1998). Last’s anatomy: regional and applied. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Gray, H., Carter, H.V. and Davidson, G. (2017). Gray’s anatomy. London: Arcturus.