Quick Facts
Origin: Common fibular nerve (L5—S2).
Course: Descends in the lateral compartment of the leg and penetrates the deep fascia to enter the dorsum of the foot.
Branches: Muscular branches and medial and intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerves.
Supply: Motor innervation to the muscles of the lateral compartment of the leg (fibularis longus and brevis); Sensory innervation to the skin of the lower leg and the dorsum of the foot (via its terminal branches).
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The superficial fibular nerve arises from the common fibular nerve after it enters the lateral compartment of the leg.
Course
The superficial fibular nerve descends in the lateral compartment of the leg, between the fibularis longus and brevis muscles. It penetrates the deep fascia in the lower leg to enter the dorsum of the foot.
Branches
The superficial fibular nerve gives rise to muscular branches in the leg and medial and intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerves in the foot. Additionally, as it passes within the leg, it sends cutaneous branches to the skin.
Supplied Structures
The superficial fibular nerve provides motor innervation to the muscles of the lateral compartment of the leg (fibularis longus and brevis muscles). It provides sensory innervation to the skin of the distal leg and the dorsum of the foot, except for the webbed space between the great and second toe, which is innervated by the deep fibular nerve, and the skin on the lateral side of the little toe, which is innervated by sural nerve.
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Superficial Fibular Nerve
The superficial fibular nerve innervates the skin of the dorsum of the tarsus and metatarsus and emits the muscular branches to the tibialis cranialis, extensor digitalis longus and extensor digitalis lateralis muscles, and forms the digitalis dorsalis communis III and IV nerves.
