Quick Facts
Origin: Plantar arch.
Course: Distally in the intermetatarsal spaces.
Branches: Plantar digital arteries.
Supplied Structures: Plantar aspect of the foot and toes.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
There are four plantar metatarsal arteries that arise from the plantar arch and are numbered sequentially from the first to fourth plantar metatarsal arteries. A fifth plantar metatarsal artery arises from the lateral plantar artery and is named the plantar metatarsal branch of the lateral plantar artery (Netter, 2011). It runs along the lateral aspect of the fifth metatarsal.
Course
The plantar metatarsal arteries course distally, on the plantar side of the plantar interossei in the intermetatarsal space.
Branches
The plantar metatarsal arteries give rise to the common plantar digital arteries.
Supplied Structures
The plantar metatarsal arteries provide an arterial supply to the plantar aspect of the foot and digits.
References
Netter, F. H. (2011) Atlas of Human Anatomy. Netter Basic Science Series: Saunders/Elsevier.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Artery
When the artery is occluded blood is forced through the collateral vessels, drastically increasing fluid shear stress and triggering an inflammatory response which drives vessel remodeling.
