Tendon arrangement in the Ankle Region

Courtesy: Prof Nabil Ebraheim, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA

Tendons at the anterior compartment of ankle are Tibialis anterior,Extensor hallucis longus ,Extensor digitorum longus. Also passing through the anterior compartment is the anterior tibial artery and deep peroneal nerve. The superior and inferior extensor retinaculum overlies this area. The mnemonic to remember arrangement of anterior ankle structures: Tom Has a Very Nice Dog. Here T stands for Tibialis anterior,H for EHL,V for vessels,N for nerve and D for EDL.

Medial aspect of ankle has three tendons; Tibialis posterior, Flexor digitorum longus,Flexor hallucis longus. The vessels of this compartment are posterior tibial artery and posterior tibial nerve.To remember the order of structures at medial side of ankle, the mnemonic is Tom, Dick and Harry.T for Tibialis posterior,D for flexor digitorum longus,a and n for artery , nerve and H for the flexor hallucis longus tendon.

Over to the posterior aspect of ankle,there is the Achilles tendon,Sural nerve and Small saphenous vein.Lateral aspect of ankle has two tendons Peroneus brevis and longus both passing behind the fibula.Superior and inferior peroneal retinaculum is in this region.The vessel of this compartment is Sural nerve.