Innervation of Calf Muscles in Relation to Calf Reduction

초록

Plump and muscular calves, so called radish-like leg, embarrass young women and cause a feeling of inferiority in Korea. Damage to motor nerves innervating a muscle makes the muscle paralyzed and dystrophic, and with loss of muscle volume. To make the legs slim, unaesthetic legs or further hypertrophic muscle. We studied the morphometry of the motor branches of the tibial nerve innervating the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle and sensory medial sural cutaneous nerve in popliteal fossa. Dissection and exploration of the tibial nerve were done in the popliteal fossae of 35 (18 males and 17 females) legs of embalmed Korean cadavers. The main branch of the tibial nerve innervating medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscle originated 3 cm above and below the popliteal crease. The medial gastrocnemius muscle had an additional nerve (49%). The medial sural cutaneous nerve came off the nerve into the medial gatrocnemius muscle (30%) and diverged 5.5 mm from the tibial nerve. The nerve into the Soleus muscle originated from the nerve innervating the lateral gastrocnemius muscle (30%) and was 12.3 mm away from it. Surgeons should keep in mind that the medial sural cutaneous nerve originates from the nerve to medial gastrocnemius in 30% and the nerve to soleus originates from the nerve to lateral gastrocnemius in 30%. Key word; innervation, gastrocnemius, calf reduction