The lateral sural cutaneous nerve of the

lumbosacral plexus The anterior divisions of the lumbar nerves, sacral nerves, and coccygeal nerve form the lumbosacral plexus, the first lumbar nerve being frequently joined by a branch from the twelfth thoracic. For descriptive purposes this plexus is usually d ...

supplies the skin on the posterior and lateral surfaces of the leg. The lateral sural cutaneous nerve originates from the common fibular nerve''(L4-S2)'' and is the terminal branch of the common fibular nerve.

Sural communicating branch

One branch, the '' sural communicating nerve'' or colloquially known as the ''peroneal anastomotic'' (n. communicans fibularis), arises from

sciatic The sciatic nerve, also called the ischiadic nerve, is a large nerve in humans and other vertebrate animals which is the largest branch of the sacral plexus and runs alongside the hip joint and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest si ...

origins near the head of the

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a human leg, leg bone on the Lateral (anatomy), lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long ...

, crosses the lateral head of the

gastrocnemius The gastrocnemius muscle (plural ''gastrocnemii'') is a superficial two-headed muscle that is in the back part of the lower leg of humans. It runs from its two heads just above the knee to the heel, a three joint muscle (knee, ankle and subtalar ...

to the middle of the leg, and joins with the medial sural cutaneous nerve to form the

sural nerve The sural nerve ''(L4-S1)'' is generally considered a pure cutaneous nerve of the posterolateral leg to the lateral ankle. The sural nerve originates from a combination of either the sural communicating branch and medial sural cutaneous nerve, o ...

Variation

Another branch observed, that is mentioned in passing in previous literature is the medial branch of the lateral sural cutaneous nerve. In a 2021 study b
Steele et al.
''( Annals of Anatomy)'', a medial branch of the lateral sural cutaneous nerve was observed in approximately 36% of lower extremities dissected (''n''=208) with an average diameter of 1.47 ± 0.655 mm with a 95% CI of 1.31 – 1.625 mm. This branch was noted to travel in a

subcutaneous Subcutaneous may refer to: * Subcutaneous injection * Subcutaneous tissue The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The ...

plane over the

to the posteromedial aspect of the

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular ...

. ''"The lateral branch of the LSCN traveled the expected course over the fibula in the superficial fascia of the posterolateral compartment of the leg, while the medial branch terminates into the lower posteromedial aspect of ankle."''
As shown in Figure 2. of Steele et al. "Anatomy of the sural nerve complex: Unaccounted anatomic variations and morphometric data" DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aanat.2021.151742]

Additional images

File:RobertSteele SuralNerve GraysMODified.png , Most common formation (type 1) of the sural nerve depicted in the popliteal fossa File:sural nerve formation.jpg , Most common formation of the sural nerve by Steele et al. File:Type 1-8 SN formation.jpg, 8 documented types of sural nerve formation File:Gray826and831.PNG, Areas of skin sensation supplied by nerves in the leg. File:Gray834.svg, Areas of skin supplied by nerves of the leg - the sural nerve supplies the lateral ankle. File:Gray835.png, Deep nerves of the front of the leg. File:Gray836.png, Course of nerves at the bottom of the foot.

References

External links

Referenced papers:
Steele et al. 208 sample cadaveric review 2021

Ramakrishnan et al.systematic review on sural nerve formation 2015
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Anatomy web references

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{{Authority control Nerves of the lower limb and lower torso