by AceMedEd

Teach card · keep it in your scrub pocket

Ankle anatomy

Ask during the case

  1. Before incision: "What's in the TA–EHL interval, and what do we retract laterally?"
  2. At the fibula: "Where's the superficial peroneal nerve, and roughly how far above the tip does it cross?"
  3. Behind the medial malleolus: "Front to back, what's in the tarsal tunnel?"

Point at: the tendon or bundle you are retracting, while they name it.

End of day: "Redraw the cross-section for me." Two minutes, no notes.

Where this kit and your technique differ, yours wins.

Send this to your students

The night before. They prep alone, redraw at turnover, and get a cold check tomorrow morning. They won't see these questions.

Open the student page

Reviewed by Mehdi “AC” Talle, D.O., November 2026. Sources: Netter, Gray's Anatomy and Hoppenfeld's surgical exposures. Teaching schematic, not to scale; anatomy and technique vary. Management and indications are left to you on purpose.