The common fibular nerve
Common fibular nerve · nervus fibularis communis
A nerve that wraps around the outside of your knee to lift your foot.
What it does
The common fibular nerve branches off the sciatic nerve above the knee and winds around the neck of the fibula, just under the skin. It splits into branches that lift the foot and toes and turn the sole outwards, and that carry feeling from the top of the foot.
Surprising fact
Where it wraps around the fibula it lies so close to the surface that crossing your legs for a long time can press on it and make your foot "fall asleep".
Why it matters
Damage here causes foot drop, where the toes catch on the ground. Tight casts, long periods of squatting or kneeling, and knee injuries can all injure it.
Nearby
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.