Which nerve provides cutaneous innervation to the medial aspect of the foot and the medial malleolus?

Which nerve provides cutaneous innervation to the medial aspect of the foot and the medial malleolus?

• A. Sural
• B. Deep peroneal
• C. Saphenous
• D. Tibial

Answer: (C)

Understanding cutaneous nerve territories of the lower limb helps you know which nerve supplies a specific skin region. The saphenous nerve is the long, purely sensory branch of the femoral nerve that travels with the great saphenous vein along the medial leg and into the foot, providing sensation to the medial aspect of the leg and foot, including the medial malleolus. This is why it best explains sensation on the medial side of the foot and ankle. The other nerves have different skin territories: the sural nerve covers the lateral and posterior aspects of the leg and foot; the deep peroneal nerve supplies the small area between the first and second toes on the dorsum of the foot; and the tibial nerve supplies sensation to the plantar surface of the foot via its medial and lateral plantar branches, not specifically the medial malleolar region.

Understanding cutaneous nerve territories of the lower limb helps you know which nerve supplies a specific skin region. The saphenous nerve is the long, purely sensory branch of the femoral nerve that travels with the great saphenous vein along the medial leg and into the foot, providing sensation to the medial aspect of the leg and foot, including the medial malleolus. This is why it best explains sensation on the medial side of the foot and ankle.

The other nerves have different skin territories: the sural nerve covers the lateral and posterior aspects of the leg and foot; the deep peroneal nerve supplies the small area between the first and second toes on the dorsum of the foot; and the tibial nerve supplies sensation to the plantar surface of the foot via its medial and lateral plantar branches, not specifically the medial malleolar region.