A Brief Description of the Human Foot

The human foot has 26 bones which is 25% of all the bones in the human body. Supporting and operating the bones are 33 joints and over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons. This provides the mechanics and structure necessary to support, balance and move the human body.

The foot is primarily made up of 3 parts - the forefoot, midfoot and hindfoot. The forefoot has 5 toes the bones of which are called phalanges with connecting long bones known as metatarsals. The big toe has 2 phalanges and the rest of the toes have 3. The midfoot has 5 bones known as cuboid, navicular and 3 cuneiforms that form the arch and act as shock absorbers. The midfoot is connected to the fore and hindfoot by muscles and thick connective tissue known as planar fascia. The hindfoot contains the ankle (talus) and heel (calcaneus). The ankle connects to the two long bones of the leg. The heel is the largest bone in the foot and connects to the ankle with the subtalar joint.

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