23 lower legs from female cadavers were dissected to explore the origin, length of and the spatial relationship between the four branches given off from the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa.
Our study showed there were seven origin patterns existing among the four nerve branches; the origin of the branches to the medial and lateral heads of the gastrocnemius muscle was located ranging from ?16?mm to 22?mm away from the midpoint of the line between the lateral and medial condyles of the femur; In 95 % of the specimens, the location of the origin of the nerve branch to the medial head was proximal to its lateral counterpart. The nerve to the medial head was often given off from the medial aspect or the posteromedial aspect of the tibial nerve, while the other three often from the lateral aspect.
A variety of origin patterns among the nerves to the lateral and medial gastrocnemius muscle, the nerve to the soleus muscle and the sural cutaneous nerve exist, necessitating the formulation of diversifying surgical strategies preoperatively and the meticulous and sequential dissection intra-operatively to ensure the lowest level of accidental injury.