Topic: Anatomy of upper limbs and lower limbs
Question: Describe the cutaneous nerve supply of dorsum of foot.
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The cutaneous nerve supply of the dorsum of the foot includes:
1. Superficial fibular nerve: Supplies the lateral aspect of the dorsum of the foot. Provides sensory innervation to the skin of the lateral foot and digits 1-3. Damage causes decreased sensation over its distribution.
2. Deep fibular nerve: Supplies the central dorsum of the foot. Provides sensory innervation to the skin between the 3rd and 4th toes, and over the 2nd-4th metatarsals. Damage causes decreased sensation in the web space between 3rd and 4th toes.
3. Sural nerve: Supplies the lateral heel and posterior ankle. Provides sensory innervation to the skin of the lateral foot, heel and posterior ankle. Damage causes decreased sensation over posterior and lateral foot.
4. Medial plantar nerve: Supplies the medial arch of the foot. Provides sensory innervation to the skin of the medial arch. Damage may decrease sensation over the medial arch.
5. Lateral plantar nerve: Supplies part of the heel and lateral arch. Provides sensory innervation to skin of the lateral heel, midfoot and 5th toe. Damage decreases sensation in these areas.
6. Saphenous nerve: Supplies the medial ankle, heel and arch. Provides sensory innervation to medial malleolus, medial arch, big toe and medial heel. Damage causes decreased sensation over medial ankle, arch and big toe.
The cutaneous innervation of the dorsum of the foot shows contributions from nerves supplying adjacent areas like the leg, ankle and plantar foot. The superficial and deep fibular nerves provide primary sensory innervation to the central and lateral dorsum of the foot, respectively. The sural, medial and lateral plantar, and saphenous nerves also provide sensation over more limited and peripheral areas of the dorsal foot.
Damage to these cutaneous nerves through injury or compression can lead to loss of protective sensation and complications like wounds or fractures of the foot. Knowledge of their distributions is important for clinical examination and diagnosis.
