Anatomy of the long peroneal muscle of the leg

Background: The aim of the work was to perform a morphometric analysis of the long peroneal muscle (LPM) of the leg and explore the relationship between muscle belly and tendon. Materials and methods: Ten lower limbs (8 right and 2 left) were fixed in formaldehyde and dissected using standard technique. The LPM was exposed from the proximal attachment to the top of a lateral malleolus. Results: The tendon was subsequently freed and various measurements were taken. The tendon of the LPM enters deep into the muscle belly. Muscle fibres surround the tendon and descend as far down as 4 cm above the lateral malleolus. Muscle fibres insert mainly along posterior border of the tendon and on its medial surface, leaving lateral surface only partly covered. Conclusions: The LPM contains a long intramuscular segment of the tendon and area of the musculotendinous junction varies along the LPM. It makes the idea of uniform pennation pattern of the LPM unlikely