The study of topographical variations of the branches of the popliteal artery in human fetuses from a macroscopic point of view in modern anatomy is considered relevant and promising. The need to study the anatomy of the terminal branches of the popliteal artery in fetuses of different ages is due to the rapid development of fetal surgery and the improvement in the performance of surgical procedures on the structures of the knee and lower leg areas, since the establishment of the anatomical variability of the vessels of the lower extremities allows choosing the optimal tactics of surgical intervention. In the literature, there are fragmentary data on the fetal topography of the popliteal artery and its branches. The purpose of the study. The study aimed to establish the topographic and anatomical features of the branches of the anterior and posterior tibial arteries in human fetuses of 4-6 months. Material and methods. The study of the fetal anatomy of the popliteal artery was carried out on 34 preparations of human fetuses (81.0-230.0 mm parietococcygeal length) using the methods of anatomical preparation, vascular injection, and morphometry. Results and discussion. In 21 examined fetuses, the classic variant of the branching of the anterior and posterior tibial arteries was observed both on the right and on the left extremity. In other fetuses, atypical variants of the origin and topography of the branches of the popliteal artery were found. The most interesting, from our point of view, was the anatomical variants of the terminal branches of the popliteal artery in fetuses of 160.0, 180.0, and 195.0 mm parietococcygeal length. A high variant of the branch of the peroneal artery from the popliteal artery; a rare variant of doubling the peroneal artery is trifurcation of the popliteal artery into the anterior and posterior tibial and peroneal arteries, doubling of the branches of the tibioperoneal trunk, as well as the formation of anastomoses between them were revealed. Among the most frequent atypical variants of the onset of the peroneal artery in the studied human fetuses was its branch from the tibioperoneal trunk. Conclusion. To obtain a clear idea of the spatial orientation of the peroneal artery in human fetuses, fetal surgeons should distinguish three segments in the peroneal artery trunk: segment I of the peroneal artery (it is proximal part) is the passage of the peroneal artery trunk in the ankle-popliteal canal; segment ІІ (middle part) corresponds to the topography of the peroneal artery in the inferior muscular-peroneal canal; the third segment of the peroneal artery (distal part) is a segment of its trunk from the point of exit from the inferior muscular-peroneal canal to the level of its division into terminal branches

Keywords: popliteal artery, anterior tibial artery, posterior tibial artery, tibial artery, anatomical variability, fetus

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