The bifurcated ligament (internal calcaneocuboid, interosseous ligament or bifurcate ligament) is a strong band, attached behind to the deep hollow on the upper surface of the

calcaneus In humans and many other primates, the calcaneus (; from the Latin ''calcaneus'' or ''calcaneum'', meaning heel) or heel bone is a bone of the tarsus of the foot which constitutes the heel. In some other animals, it is the point of the hock. S ...

and dividing in front in a Y-shaped manner into a calcaneocuboid and a calcaneonavicular part. * The

calcaneocuboid ligament The calcaneocuboid ligament is a fibrous band that connects the superior surface of the calcaneus to the dorsal surface of the cuboid bone In the human body, the cuboid bone is one of the seven tarsal bones of the foot. Structure The cuboid bon ...

(''ligamentum calcaneocuboideum'') is fixed to the medial side of the

cuboid In geometry, a cuboid is a hexahedron, a six-faced solid. Its faces are quadrilaterals. Cuboid means "like a cube", in the sense that by adjusting the length of the edges or the angles between edges and faces a cuboid can be transformed into a cub ...

and forms one of the principal bonds between the first and second rows of the tarsal bones. * The

calcaneonavicular ligament The plantar calcaneonavicular ligament (also known as the spring ligament or spring ligament complex) is a complex of three ligaments on the underside of the foot that connect the calcaneus with the navicular bone. Structure The plantar calcaneo ...

(''ligamentum calcaneonaviculare'') is attached to the lateral side of the

navicular The navicular bone is a small bone found in the feet of most mammals. Human anatomy The navicular bone in humans is one of the tarsal bones, found in the foot. Its name derives from the human bone's resemblance to a small boat, caused by th ...

. (Note this is NOT the spring ligament which is commonly called the plantar calcaneonavicular ligament). It is commonly injured in "sprain-type" inversion injuries producing an

avulsion fracture An avulsion fracture is a bone fracture which occurs when a fragment of bone tears away from the main mass of bone as a result of physical trauma. This can occur at the ligament by the application of forces external to the body (such as a fall ...

at the anterolateral process of the

References

Ligaments of the lower limb {{ligament-stub