Bones

The ankle joint consists of 3 bones, the tibial plafond, the medial malleolus, and the lateral malleolus.  The mortise of the tibia and fibula articulates with the talus.  Dorsiflexion is combined with eversion of the foot while plantar flexion is combined with inversion.

Ligaments and soft tissues

Stability of the ankle is due to bony and ligamentous structures.  The medial deltoid ligament complex is the primary source of stability to the ankle joint.  It consists of both superficial and deep components.  The lateral ligament complex is responsible for lateral stability of the ankle joint.  It consists of 3 major ligaments - the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL), the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL), and the posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL).  The ligaments of the ankle syndesmosis include the anterior talofibular, posterior talofibular, and interosseous ligaments.

Muscles

13 tendons cross the ankle joint.

Nerves and blood vessels

Five nerves, 2 arteries and veins cross the ankle joint. The sural nerve is lateral to the Achilles tendon.

The structures are divided into the posterior, medial, lateral, and anterior groups.

The structures that cross the posterior ankle include:

• [Achilles tendon]
• [Plantaris tendon]

The structures that cross the medial ankle include:

• Tibialis anterior
• Flexor digitorum longus
• Tibialis posterior
• Flexor hallucis longus
• [Posterior tibial artery]
• [Saphenous vein]
• Saphenous nerve
• Tibial nerve

The structures that cross the anterior ankle include:

• Tibialis anterior
• Extensor hallucis longus
• Extensor digitorum longus
• [Peroneus tertius tendon]
• [Anterior tibial artery]
• [Deep peroneal nerve]
• [Superficial peroneal nerve]

The structures that cross the lateral ankle include:

• Peroneus tertius
• Peroneus longus
• Peroneus brevis
• Superior retinaculum
• Lesser saphenous nerve
• Sural nerve

Your Rating:

Thanks for voting!

Please Wait

Results:

0

rates