CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE SURGICAL ANATOMY OF THE SURAL NERVE

The exact anatomy of the sural nerve remains important for many clinic al situations. To better understand this anatomy, 25 embalmed and 10 f resh cadaver pairs were studied. The origin of the common sural nerve in relation to the fibular head and its medial and lateral sural compo nents were investigated. The lateral sural nerve was absent in 4 perce nt of the embalmed cadavers. The lateral and medial sural nerves unite d in the popliteal fossa in 12 percent and in the lower third of the l eg in 84 percent of the cadavers. A site was identified where the late ral sural and lateral cutaneous nerve of the calf pierced the deep fas cia. This site was centered about the fibular head and may be viewed a s a potential site of nerve compression. There is application of these findings to nerve-grafting, neuroma prevention and treatment, and sur al nerve biopsy.