The Leg and Foot

Abstract

The bones of the foot are the tarsal and metatarsal bones and the phalanges. The seven tarsal bones are comparable with the carpal bones but are much larger and their arrangement is different. The talus is the only bone to articulate with the tibia and fibula at the ankle joint (talus = ankle, Latin). It lies on the calcaneus and projects forwards on the medial side to articulate with the navicular bone. The calcaneus projects backwards and forms the prominence of the heel (calx = heel, Latin). Anteriorly it projects on the lateral side to articulate with the cuboid bone. The navicular articulates with the three cuneiform bones — medial, intermediate and lateral. Each cuneiform articulates with a metatarsal bone and the cuboid articulates with the two lateral metatarsals. The big toe has two phalanges and each of the remaining four toes has three.