[Contribution to the study of the sensory innervation of the heel]

The purpose of the present work was to contribute to the knowledge of the subcutaneous innervation of the heel. The small branches arising from both tibial and sural nerves below the ankle joint were studied by means of a dissecting microscope; this study was combined with a histological examination of the nerve endings. In spite of many individual variations, it may safely be assumed that the nervus tibialis supplies the plantar area of the heel; thin anastomoses with branches of the sural nerve were found along the lateral aspects of the heel and Achilles tendon. Moreover, based on the density of Pacinian corpuscles, the heel may be divided into three functional areas of increasing sensitivity: the Achilles area, the apex and the bearing area.