Clinically Oriented Morphological Study of the Peroneal Muscles in Human Cadavers

Introduction: the objective of this anatomical investigation was to record the morphology of peroneus longus (PL), brevis (PB) and tertius (PT) muscles in human cadaveric specimens. Material and Methods: this study utilized 40 cadaveric formalin fixed lower limb specimens. The leg region was meticulously dissected to expose the muscle belly and their tendons to study the morphology. They were traced till their insertion in the foot. The morphometric data were recorded by using the digital Vernier caliper. results: PL tendon was inserting to the first metatarsal and medial cuneiform bones in 32 specimens (80%), to the shaft of first metatarsal in 3 cases (7.5%) and in 5 specimens, tendon got inserted into the second metatarsal (12.5%). Thirty PB specimens (75%) had tubular morphology at the insertion and 10 specimens (25%) showed a fan or triangular shaped flattened insertion into the fifth metatarsal. The PT was observed in all of our specimens (100%). It presented a single tendon at the site of insertion in 28 specimens (70%), presented a flattered broad insertion (band like) in 7 specimens (17.5%). This morphology shared a slip to the PB and in 5 specimens (12.5%), the muscle got inserted into the fourth metatarsal and gave fibrous expansion to the extensor digitorum longus. Conclusion: we believe that the morphological data of the peroneal muscles presented in this study are beneficial to the plastic and reconstructive surgeries, ankle and foot surgeries during the muscle flap and correction procedures of the lower extremity.