The fascial compartments of the leg are the four
fascial compartment
A fascial compartment is a section within the body that contains Skeletal muscle, muscles and nerves and is surrounded by deep fascia. In the human body, the Limb (anatomy), limbs can each be divided into two segments – the upper limb can be di ...
s that separate and contain the
muscle
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
s of the
lower leg
The leg is the entire lower limb (anatomy), limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or Gluteal muscles, buttock region. The major bones of the leg are the femur (thigh bone), tibia (shin bone), and adjacent f ...
(from the knee to the ankle). The compartments are divided by
septa
SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...
formed from the
fascia
A fascia (; : fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; ) is a generic term for macroscopic membranous bodily structures. Fasciae are classified as superficial, visceral or deep, and further designated according to their anatomical location.
...
. The compartments usually have nerve and
blood supplies separate from their neighbours. All of the muscles within a compartment will generally be supplied by the same
nerve
A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...
.
Intermuscular septa
The lower
leg
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...
is divided into four compartments by the
interosseous membrane of the leg, the
anterior intermuscular septum, the
transverse intermuscular septum and the
posterior intermuscular septum.
Each compartment contains connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. The septa are formed from the fascia which is made up of a strong type of connective tissue. The fascia also separates the skeletal muscles from the subcutaneous tissue. Due to the great pressure placed on the leg, from the column of blood from the heart to the feet, the fascia is very thick in order to support the leg muscles. The thickness of the fascia can give problems when any inflammation present in the leg has little room to expand into. Blood vessels and nerves can also be affected by the pressure caused by any swelling in the leg. If the pressure becomes great enough,
blood flow
Hemodynamics American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or haemodynamics are the Fluid dynamics, dynamics of blood flow. The circulatory system is controlled by homeostasis, homeostatic mechanisms of autoregulation, just as hydrau ...
to the muscle can be blocked, leading to a condition known as
compartment syndrome. Severe damage to the nerve and blood vessels around a muscle can cause the muscle to die and amputation might be necessary.
Compartments
Additional images
File:Fascial compartments of leg - animation.gif, Animation
File:Braus 1921 293.png, Cross-section of the right leg.
See also
*
Fascial compartments of arm
*
Fascial compartments of forearm
*
Fascial compartments of thigh
References
External links
Diagram at patientcareonline.com
{{Lower limb general
Muscles of the lower limb