The feet are one of the parts of our body that suffer the most on a daily basis. These limbs are in charge of supporting our body on a daily basis as well as those in charge of the direct impact of our steps when walking. The bones of the foot are divided into several areas, forming a total of 26 along with 33 joints.
And it is that not all living beings have the ability to walk bipedally as we humans do, being one of the most important milestones in human evolution.
The bones of the foot
As we say, our foot consists of 26 bones, 333 joints and more than 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons . All together it completes the complex structure of this joint that is so important to human beings.
The bones of the foot are divided into different parts: forefoot (phalanges), midfoot (metatarsal) and hindfoot (tarsus).
Phalanges
This is the area that houses the largest number of bones that we have in the foot since it is the area of the fingers where there are small bones that make up a total of 14 . They are also the most articulable bones of the feet since in each toe we find three very small bones (except for the big toe, which has two) that help us to walk and run.
Metatarsus
In this part of the foot we find the longest bones. It is a series of bones that serve a single function: to unite the forefoot with the hindfoot.
These joints are known as metatarsals and there is one for each toe. The first of them is the largest and joins the big toe and the first cuneiform bone. The rest of the metatarsal bones follow the same distribution to join each finger with its respective one.
Tarsus
This part is the one that connects with the ankle and the rest of the leg. Here we find seven bones that join the tibia and fibula with the foot . We have three cuneiform bones, the calcaneus, which is known as the heel, the talus, the scaphoid and the cuboid.
In this part of the foot, the calcaneus is responsible for distributing the impact of our bones while we walk. Together with the talus bone, they form the subtalar joint that is responsible for stabilizing the foot, supporting the gait, as well as allowing our feet to make forward and backward movements (pronation and supination).
The cuneiform bones are known as wedges and are located in the tarsus and communicate with the matatarsus.
