13-2 Handbook of Digital Human Modeling 13.2 The Human Foot The human foot (Morton, 1935) consists of 26 bones: IM phalanges, five metatarsals, three cuneiforms (medial, lateral, and intermediate), the navicular, cuboid, calcaneus, and talus (fig. 13.1). A common division af the foot is the hindfoot (cunciforms, navicular, cuboid, calcaneus, and talus), the midfoot (metatarsals), ans the forefoot (phalanges). The inner side (or big toe side) ofthe foot is called the medial side, while the outer side (or little toe side) is called the lateral sicle of the foot, Cartilage at the joints provides smooth surfaces for the movement of bones, while ligaments, connect- ing one bone to another, provide stable joints (Abboud, 2002). For example, the ealeaneofibular ligament at the ankle joint is attached to the calcaneus and the fibula, At the ankle joint, the talus joinsthe foot to the tibia and fibula on the leg, The medial end of the tibia forms the medial malleolus, while the lateral side of the fibula forms the lateral malleolus. The alignment af the tibia (torston) influences the position ofthe medial malleolus and in turn affects both posture and gait, while the fibula influences foot orienta- tion and allows complex foot movements, “The calcaneus, also known as the heel bone, is the primary weight-bearing bone that is subjected to heavy impact curing activities such as walking and running, The Achilles tendon, which attaches the gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the rear (posterior) surface of the calcaneus bone, is the thickest and strongest tendon in the body. ‘The navicular bone lies between the talus and the three cuneiforms, while the plantar calcaneona- vicular Ligament (also called spring ligament) joins the calcaneus and the nayicular and is an impor tant ligament as it supports the arch of the foot. The tuberosity (small outward growth} on the medial side of the navicular can be detected by palpation; its height is the navicular height, which is highly correlated with arch height. The three cuneiforms make the transverse arch of the foot. The cuboid provides facets for the bases of the fourth and fifth metatarsal bones. The metatarsals are the five long bones of the foot, the first three metatarsals are joined to the cuneiform bones (lateral, medial, and intermediate}, while the last two metatarsals are joined to the cuboid, ‘The forefoot has 14 phalanges (phalangeal bones) that form the toes of the foot. ‘The plantar (bottom of the foot) fascia consists of a network of ligaments that extend from the caleaneus to the metatarsals and the phalangeal bones. The plantar fascia provides the shape and structure for the whole foot and also influences the shape and height of the medial areh, “ phalanges 5 metatarsals Cuneifarms Navieular —— Cuboid Caleaneus FIGURE 13.1 The human foot.