Seven bones make up the back half of the foot, from the heel to the base of the long bones of the mid-foot
Tarsal bones — talus, calcaneus, navicular, cuboid and three cuneiforms.
Anatomy · Bones
Tarsal bones
Seven bones of the hindfoot and midfoot
Foot · ankle and heel
The tarsal bones are the seven bones of the back half of the foot: the talus, calcaneus, navicular, cuboid and the three cuneiforms (medial, intermediate and lateral). The talus and calcaneus form the hindfoot; the navicular, cuboid and cuneiforms form the midfoot. Body weight passes from the tibia to the talus and then to the calcaneus and forefoot.
How to spot them
- ▸A block of seven irregular bones between the leg and the metatarsals, forming the posterior half of the foot
- ▸Talus on top, calcaneus below and behind (the heel); navicular medially, cuboid laterally, three wedge-shaped cuneiforms in front
- ▸The talus and calcaneus are the largest and articulate with each other at the subtalar joint
- ▸Unlike the eight carpal bones of the wrist, they are seven, and much larger, to bear weight
What to know
This group includes the largest bone of the foot and the only one that meets the leg bones at the ankle
Tarsal bones — the calcaneus and the talus.
Its Greek root, meaning a wickerwork frame or flat surface, also names the fibrous plates that stiffen the eyelids
Tarsal bones — from tarsos; the tarsal plates of the eyelids share the word.
A passage behind the inner ankle, roofed by the flexor retinaculum, can trap the tibial nerve, a syndrome that mirrors the wrist's
Tarsal bones — the tarsal tunnel, whose floor is formed by them.
The joint running across the middle of this group, formed by the talonavicular and calcaneocuboid joints, is named for a French surgeon, Chopart
Tarsal bones — the transverse tarsal (Chopart's) joint.
Three wedge-shaped members lie between a boat-shaped bone and the long bones of the mid-foot, forming the transverse arch
Tarsal bones — the cuneiforms, with the navicular and cuboid.
Seven in number, against the eight small bones of the wrist, and much larger because they bear the weight of the body
Tarsal bones — the foot's counterpart of the carpal bones.
Key ideas
- Body weight passes from the tibia to the talus and then to the calcaneus, which rests on the ground, and forwards to the metatarsal heads: the tarsal bones form the arches that absorb shock.
- The tarsal bones are arranged in a proximal row (talus, calcaneus), an intermediate bone (navicular) and a distal row (cuboid, three cuneiforms).
Quick-fire facts
- •There are seven tarsal bones: talus, calcaneus, navicular, cuboid, and the medial, intermediate and lateral cuneiforms; the wrist has eight carpal bones.
- •The talus and calcaneus are the hindfoot; navicular, cuboid and cuneiforms the midfoot; the metatarsals and phalanges the forefoot.
- •The calcaneus is the largest bone of the foot; the talus is the second largest tarsal bone.
- •The transverse tarsal (midtarsal or Chopart's) joint comprises the talonavicular and calcaneocuboid joints; the tarsometatarsal (Lisfranc) joint lies just in front of the tarsus.
- •The talus is at the top of the longitudinal arches of the foot and receives the weight of the body.
- •Tarsal tunnel syndrome is compression of the tibial nerve behind the medial malleolus.
- •The 'tarsal plates' of the eyelids are dense fibrous plates that give the lids their shape.
- •The word comes from Greek tarsos, a flat surface, especially the frame of wickerwork and the flat of the foot.
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