The anterior tibial recurrent artery is a small

artery An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

in the

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 ...

. It arises from the

anterior tibial artery The anterior tibial artery is an artery of the leg. It carries blood to the anterior compartment of the leg and dorsal surface of the foot, from the popliteal artery. Structure Course The anterior tibial artery is a branch of the popliteal ...

, as soon as that vessel has passed through the interosseous space. It ascends in the

tibialis anterior muscle The tibialis anterior muscle is a muscle of the anterior compartment of the lower leg. It originates from the upper portion of the tibia; it inserts into the medial cuneiform and first metatarsal bones of the foot. It acts to dorsiflex and invert ...

, ramifies on the front and sides of the

knee-joint In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

, and assists in the formation of the

patellar plexus The patellar plexus is a nerve plexus within the subcutaneous tissue overlying and surrounding the patella and ligamentum patellae. It is a fine network of communicating nerve fibres. It is formed by the anterior division of lateral femoral c ...

anastomosing An anastomosis (, : anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be normal (suc ...

with the genicular branches of the popliteal, and with the highest genicular artery.

References

External links

Arteries of the lower limb {{circulatory-stub