The sural nerve, commonly harvested for nerve grafting, supplies skin over the lateral side of the foot and heel. It is formed by the union of which two neural contributions?

• A Medial sural cutaneous nerve and sural communicating branch of the common peroneal nerve ✓
• B Lateral sural cutaneous nerve and medial calcaneal branches of the tibial nerve
• C Saphenous nerve and medial sural cutaneous nerve
• D Deep peroneal nerve and sural communicating branch

Explanation

The sural nerve is formed in the posterior leg when the medial sural cutaneous branch of the tibial nerve is joined by the sural communicating branch from the common peroneal nerve. It accompanies the small saphenous vein behind the lateral malleolus and supplies the lateral ankle, heel, and lateral border of the foot. It carries no motor fibers, which makes it ideal as a graft donor.

Reference: Gray's Anatomy for Students, 4th ed.

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Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.