Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/204

 the upper fibula and being inserted into the first metatarsal and the internal cuneiform, the latter arising from the lower fibula and being inserted into the fifth metatarsal. The foot is flexed, adducted, and rotated inward by means of the tibialis anticus, which rises from the outer tuberosity and the upper two-thirds of the outer surface of the tibia and is inserted into the internal cuneiform bone.

In the foot, and corresponding to the palmar fascia in the hand, is the plantar fascia, the densest of all fibrous membranes. There are also various annular ligaments, and the foot muscles are arranged similarly to those in the hand.

The Blood Supply of the Lower Extremity.—The blood supply of the lower extremity comes from the external iliac artery, a branch of the common iliac, which passes obliquely downward and outward along the border of the psoas muscle to Poupart's ligament, where it enters the thigh and becomes the femoral artery. Its only important branches are the deep epigastric, which goes up along the internal abdominal ring, and the deep circumflex iliac. As the femoral artery it passes down the inner side of the thigh to the internal condyle of the femur, being very superficial at Scarpa's triangle, where it can be compressed with the thumb to stop hemorrhage below. If a tourniquet is applied, it should be applied a little lower down. The first and most important branch of the femoral is the profunda femoris.

About two-thirds of the way to the knee the artery takes the name popliteal. It lies superficially in the popliteal space back of the knee, but above and below it is covered with muscles. Its branches supply the knee-joint and nearby muscles and are unimportant. At the lower border of the popliteus muscle, a small muscle at the knee, it divides into the ''anterior and posterior tibial arteries''. The course of the former of these may be marked by a line from the inner side of the head of the fibula to midway between the malleoli at the front of the ankle,