In the
human body
The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viabi ...
, the tarsus is a cluster of seven articulating
bone
A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...
s in each
foot
The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
situated between the lower end of the
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
and the
fibula
The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...
of the lower leg and the
metatarsus
The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the med ...
. It is made up of the midfoot (
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 ...
, medial, intermediate, and lateral
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
, and
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 ...
) and hindfoot (
talus and
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 ...
).
The tarsus articulates with the bones of the metatarsus, which in turn articulate with the
proximal phalanges
The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. ...
of the toes. The joint between the tibia and fibula above and the tarsus below is referred to as the
ankle joint proper.
In humans the largest bone in the tarsus is the calcaneus, which is the weight-bearing bone within the heel of the foot.
Human anatomy
Bones
The
talus bone
The talus (; Latin for ankle or ankle bone), talus bone, astragalus (), or ankle bone is one of the group of foot bones known as the tarsus. The tarsus forms the lower part of the ankle joint. It transmits the entire weight of the body from the ...
or ankle bone is connected superiorly to the two bones of the lower leg, the tibia and fibula, to form the
ankle joint
The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular join ...
or talocrural joint; inferiorly, at the
subtalar joint
In human anatomy, the subtalar joint, also known as the
talocalcaneal joint, is a joint of the foot. It occurs at the meeting point of the Talus bone, talus and the calcaneus.
The joint is classed structurally as a synovial joint, and functional ...
, to the calcaneus or heel bone. Together, the talus and calcaneus form the hindfoot.
[Podiatry Channel, ''Anatomy of the foot and ankle'']
The five irregular bones of the midfoot—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 ...
,
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 ...
, and three
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sha ...
bones—form the
arches of the foot
The arches of the foot, formed by the tarsus (skeleton), tarsal and metatarsal bones, strengthened by ligaments and tendons, allow the foot to support the weight of the body in the erect posture with the least weight.
They are categorized as long ...
which serves as a shock absorber. The midfoot is connected to the hind- and forefoot by muscles and the
plantar fascia
The plantar fascia is the thick connective tissue (aponeurosis) which supports the arch on the bottom (plantar side) of the foot. It runs from the tuberosity of the calcaneus (heel bone) forward to the heads of the metatarsal bones (the bone betw ...
.
Movements
The complex motion of the subtalar joint occurs in three planes and produces subtalar
inversion
Inversion or inversions may refer to:
Arts
* , a French gay magazine (1924/1925)
* ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas
* Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory
* ...
and
eversion. Along with the transverse tarsal joint (i.e. talonavicular and calcaneocuboid joint), the subtalar joint transforms tibial rotation into forefoot
supination and
pronation.
The axis of rotation in the joint is directed upward 42 degrees from the horizontal plane and 16 degrees medially from the midline of the foot.
However, together, the subtalar facets form a screw or
Archimedean spiral
The Archimedean spiral (also known as the arithmetic spiral) is a spiral named after the 3rd-century BC Greek mathematician Archimedes. It is the locus corresponding to the locations over time of a point moving away from a fixed point with a con ...
, right-handed in the right foot, about which subtalar motion occurs. So, during subtalar inversion, the calcaneus also rotates clockwise and translates forward along the axis of the screw.
Average subtalar motion is 20-30 degrees inversion and 5-10 degrees eversion. Functional motion during the gait cycle is 10-15 degrees (the heel strikes the ground in slight inversion followed by quick eversion).
[Nordin-Frankel 2001, pp 229-30]
The
talonavicular and
calcaneocuboid joints (i.e. between the talus and navicular bones, and the calcaneus and cuboid bones) form the so-called
transverse tarsal joint
The transverse tarsal joint or midtarsal joint or Chopart's joint is formed by the articulation of the calcaneus with the cuboid (the calcaneocuboid joint), and the articulation of the talus with the navicular (the talocalcaneonavicular joint). ...
or
Chopart's joint. It has two axes of motion.
Inversion and eversion occur about a longitudinal axis oriented 15 degrees upward from the horizontal plane and 9 degrees medially from the longitudinal axis of the foot.
Flexion and extension occur primarily about an oblique axis oriented 52 degrees upward from the horizontal plane and 57 degrees anteromedially (forward-inward).
''
In vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...
'' talonavicular motion is 7 degrees flexion-extension and 17 degrees pronation-supination; while calcaneocuboid motion is 2 degrees flexion-extension and 7 degrees pronation-supination.
The motions of the subtalar and transverse talar joints interact to make the foot either flexible or rigid. With the subtalar joint in eversion, the two joints of the transverse joint are parallel, which make movements in this joint possible. With the subtalar joint in inversion, the axes of the transverse joint are convergent, movements in this joint are thus locked and the midfoot rigid.
Other animals
In primitive
tetrapod
Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids ( reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (pelycosaurs, extinct theraps ...
s, such as ''
Trematops'', the tarsus consists of three rows of bones. There are three proximal tarsals, the tibiale, intermedium, and fibulare, named for their points of articulation with the bones of the lower limb. These are followed by a second row of four bones, referred to as the centralia (singular: centrale), and then a row of five distal tarsals, each articulating with a single metatarsal. In the great majority of tetrapods, including all of those alive today, this simple pattern is modified by the loss and fusion of some of the bones.
[Romer-Parsons 1977, pp 205-208]
In reptiles and mammals, there are normally just two proximal tarsals, the calcaneus (equivalent to the amphibian fibulare) and the talus (probably derived from a fusion of multiple bones). In mammals, including humans, the talus forms a hinge joint with the tibia, a feature especially well developed in the
artiodactyl
The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...
s. The calcaneus is also modified, forming a heel for the attachment of the
Achilles tendon
The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...
. Neither of these adaptations is found in reptiles, which have a relatively simple structure to both bones.
The fifth distal tarsal disappears relatively early in evolution, with the remainder becoming the cuneiform and cuboid bones. Reptiles usually retain two centralia, while mammals typically have only one (the navicular).
In birds, the tarsus has disappeared, with the proximal tarsals having fused with the tibia, the centralia having disappeared, and the distal bones having fused with the metatarsals to form a single
tarsometatarsus bone, effectively giving the leg a third segment.
Additional images
See also
*
Arches of the foot
The arches of the foot, formed by the tarsus (skeleton), tarsal and metatarsal bones, strengthened by ligaments and tendons, allow the foot to support the weight of the body in the erect posture with the least weight.
They are categorized as long ...
*
Carpus
In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known as the carpal ...
*
Cuboid syndrome
Cuboid syndrome or cuboid subluxation describes a condition that results from subtle injury to the calcaneocuboid joint and ligaments in the vicinity of the cuboid bone, one of seven tarsal bones of the human foot.
This condition often manifests ...
*
Tarsal tunnel
The tarsal tunnel is a passage found along the inner leg underneath the medial malleolus of the ankle.
Structure
The roof of the tarsal tunnel is formed by the flexor retinaculum of the foot. The floor of the tarsal tunnel is formed by the medi ...
*
Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Diagram, identifying bones* ()
{{Authority control
Short bones
Foot
Bones of the foot
Tarsal bones