| Fascial compartments of leg | |
|---|---|
 Cross-section through middle of leg. Four compartments painted in different colors. | |
 Muscles of the lower leg. Four compartments painted in different colors. | |
| Anatomical terminology |
Thefascial compartments of the leg are the fourfascial compartments that separate and contain themuscles of thelower leg (from the knee to the ankle). The compartments are divided bysepta formed from thefascia. The compartments usually have nerve andblood supplies separate from their neighbours. All of the muscles within a compartment will generally be supplied by the samenerve.
The lowerleg is divided into four compartments by theinterosseous membrane of the leg, theanterior intermuscular septum, thetransverse intermuscular septum and theposterior intermuscular septum.[1]
Each compartment contains connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels. The septa are formed from the fascia which is made up of a strong type of connective tissue. The fascia also separates the skeletal muscles from the subcutaneous tissue.[2] Due to the great pressure placed on the leg, from the column of blood from the heart to the feet, the fascia is very thick in order to support the leg muscles.[3] The thickness of the fascia can give problems when any inflammation present in the leg has little room to expand into. Blood vessels and nerves can also be affected by the pressure caused by any swelling in the leg. If the pressure becomes great enough,blood flow to the muscle can be blocked, leading to a condition known ascompartment syndrome. Severe damage to the nerve and blood vessels around a muscle can cause the muscle to die and amputation might be necessary.[4]
| Image | Compartment | Muscles | Neurovascular structures |
|---|---|---|---|
_-_anterior_view.png) | Anterior compartment | Deep fibular (peroneal) nerve andanterior tibial vessels | |
_-_posterior_view.png) | Lateral compartment | Superficial fibular (peroneal) nerve andfibular artery | |
_-_posterior_view.png) | Deep posterior compartment | Tibial nerve,posterior tibial artery and posterior tibial vessels such as thefibular artery | |
_-_posterior_view.png) | Superficial posterior compartment | Tibial nerve |
