Dorsal digital arteries of foot
Arteriae digitales dorsales pedis
Fine arteries along the backs of the toes, formed where each dorsal metatarsal artery divides at a toe web.
At a glance
- English
- Dorsal digital arteries of foot
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteriae digitales dorsales pedis
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Foot
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the dorsal digital arteries of foot
The dorsal digital arteries of the foot are slender vessels that run on the upper surface of the toes. They come from the dorsal metatarsal arteries, which run forwards over the dorsal interosseous muscles in the spaces between the metatarsal bones. Near each toe web a dorsal metatarsal artery divides into two dorsal digital arteries, one for each of the facing sides of the neighbouring toes.
The first dorsal metatarsal artery is a branch of the dorsalis pedis artery, and it supplies the dorsal digital arteries for the adjacent sides of the great and second toes, together with a branch for the medial side of the great toe. The second to fourth dorsal metatarsal arteries usually come from the arcuate artery, which arches laterally across the metatarsal bases. The fourth also sends a small branch to the lateral side of the little toe. When the arcuate artery is small, the lateral tarsal artery or the perforating branches from the sole take over.
On each toe the arteries run along the dorsal borders of the proximal phalanx, beneath the skin and over the extensor expansion, and they become very small beyond the first interphalangeal joint. The skin over the far end of the toe and the nail bed draws its blood mainly from the larger proper plantar digital arteries, which send dorsal branches round the sides of the toe. The dorsal and plantar digital vessels communicate freely along the toes.
These arteries travel with the dorsal digital nerves of the foot, which come mainly from the superficial fibular nerve, with the deep fibular nerve supplying the cleft between the great and second toes. Because the dorsal supply to the toes is modest, the toes depend heavily on the plantar circulation, and narrowing of the main leg arteries tends to show first as colour change and poor healing at the tips of the toes.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- The dorsal metatarsal arteries, each dividing near a toe web.
- Ends in
- End along the backs of the proximal and middle phalanges, communicating with dorsal branches of the proper plantar digital arteries.
- Supplies
- Supply the skin and soft tissues of the back of the toes.
Anthromica
See the dorsal digital arteries of foot where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
