Unilateral arteria peronea magna associated with bilateral replaced dorsalis pedis arteries

Abstract

During anatomic dissection, a 59-year-old man presented with an arteria peronea magna that replaced all the branches of the posterior tibial artery as well as the dorsalis pedis artery. Thus, the right popliteal artery terminated into the anterior tibial artery and the enlarged peroneal artery. The right anterior tibial artery ended before it reached the ankle. The right dorsalis pedis artery arose from the peroneal artery through its perforating branch. The left popliteal artery gave rise to a common stem that subdivided into two individual branches replacing the proximal part of the anterior tibial artery, and then divided into the posterior tibial artery and the peroneal artery. As on the right side, the left dorsalis pedis artery also arose from the peroneal artery through its perforating branch. A possible embryologic explanation of these variations is proposed.