Bilateral Absent Fibular (Peroneal) Arteries‐ A Case Report

Abstract

Arterial variations of the distal lower limbs are well documented. However, the absence of a fibular artery is a rare finding. During medical students’ dissection of a cadaver, bilateral missing fibular arteries were discovered and are reported here. The precise knowledge of the popliteal artery and its branches' anatomic variations is relevant to the clinical practice of vascular medicine, surgery, and interventional procedures. Radiologist and vascular surgeons in recent studies use the following terminology to describe the vascular branching pattern. The most common branching pattern in the lower extremity is the popliteal artery branching into the anterior tibial artery and tibiofibular trunk. The tibiofibular trunk bifurcates into the two terminal branches: the posterior tibial artery and the fibular artery. The fibular artery runs along the medial aspect of the fibula supplying the lateral compartment of the lower extremity. In this case report, there is a normal branching of the popliteal artery into the anterior tibial artery. As the popliteal artery continues, it transforms into the posterior tibial artery without the formation of the tibiofibular trunk and fibular artery. To compensate for the absent fibular artery, the posterior tibial artery was found to have smaller branching vessels that supply the lateral compartment of the lower extremity. This variation was found bilaterally in the subject.