CASE 40
A group of four men were mountain climbing when they suddenly noticed that the weather was dramatically changing for the worse. In an attempt to avoid the approaching winter blast, the climbers started to descend down a steep cliff. As the last climber was descending, he slipped and fell. After the fall, he complained of pain in his leg. One of the team members used his cell phone to call for help, but they would have to wait until the storm passed. After 4 hours, the injured man complained that his leg was tingling and burning (paresthesia). The severe weather finally passed and the man was airlifted to a nearby medical center. Lab results showed that creatine kinase was elevated, and roentgenography revealed a tibial fracture. The MRI study that followed showed increased signal intensity in the posterior compartment of the leg. The man was diagnosed with posterior compartment syndrome secondary to a tibial fracture.
WHAT ARE THE COMPARTMENTS OF THE LEG AND WHAT STRUCTURES DO THEY CONTAIN?
The leg is divided into three compartments by osseofibrous structures (Fig. 5-17). These are the anterior, lateral, and posterior compartments. The posterior compartment is further divided into superficial and deep. The contents of the crural compartments are found in Table 5-9.
