The foot is used first and foremost for an upright posture and stand.
The position of its
bones (ossa) create a longitudinal arch on the inside of the foot,
and at the height of the metatarsal bones (ossa metatarsi), it forms a
transverse arch from the inside to the outside, thus protecting the soft
parts of the part and providing for a lighter footed walk.
The bony supports of the arch are the heel tubercle (Tuber calcanei) pointing to the back and the 1st and 5th metatarsal bones. Ligaments, muscles and tendons sustain the foot arches.
The foot skeleton consists of three consecutive sections. It is made up of 7 tarsal bones (ossa tarsi), 5 metatarsal bones (ossa metatarsalia) and the toe bones (ossa digitorum pedis), which each consist of phalanxes.
Of the seven tarsal bones, the anklebone (talus) and the heel bone (Calcaneus) on the proximal side are located over each other, not next to each other. The cuboid bone (os cuboideum) and the three cuneiform bones (os cuneiforme mediale, - intermedium, - laterale) are on the distal side. The navicular bone (os naviculare) lies between the inner cuneiform bone (os cuneiforme mediale) and the anklebone.
The five metatarsal bones are tubular bones each with a head (caput), a body (corpus) and a base.
The toe bones each consist of a proximal, medial and distal phalanx (phalanx proximalis, phalanx media, phalanx distalis). Only the big toe has only a proximal and distal phalanx. There are also small flat round bones, the sesamoid bones (ossa sesamoidea) in the area of the toe bones.
Joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments hold the foot skeleton together and allow for many different movement sequences.
