Foot and Ankle Bones

A normal human foot and ankle is made up of a total of 24 bones.  The feet and ankles account for a total of 52 (roughly 25%) bones out of 206 bones that comprise the adult human body.  Each ankle is made up of seven bones including the talus, calcaneus (heel bone), navicular, cuboid, lateral cuneiform, intermediate cuneiform, and medial cuneiform.  Each foot has 19 bones which consists of 5 metatarsal bones and 14 phalanges (toe bones).

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Additional Information

Ankle

General information
There are seven tarsal bones in the foot and they are called calcaneus, talus, navicular, lateral cuneiform, intermediate cuneiform, medial cuneiform, and cuboid. The calcaneus is the largest of the tarsal bones and the talus is the only tarsal articulating with the bones of the leg. Strong ligaments hold the tarsals in relation to one another and help to maintain the contours and arches of the foot.

Articulations
Proximally, the tarsal bones (talus) articulates with the bones of the leg. Distally, the tarsal bones (cuboid and cuneiforms) articulate with the metatarsal bones.

Muscle attachments
Muscles of the leg attach to one or more of the carpal bones, as do muscles of the foot. The triceps surae, tibialis anterior and posterior, and peroneus longus attach onto the tarsals, and muscles of the foot, such as abductor digiti minimi, quadratus plantae, extensor digitorum brevis, and flexor hallucis brevis all attach to the tarsal bones.
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Metatarsals

General information
There are five metatarsals in the foot. The first metatarsal is usually thicker and shorter than the lateral four metatarsals. The distal end of the bone is called the metatarsal head and the proximal end is called the base. The area between the proximal and distal ends is the metatarsal shaft. Two sesamoid bones usually accompany the head of the first metatarsal, lying adjacent to its plantar surface. These sesamoid bones are embedded in a muscle of the great toe: flexor hallucis brevis.

When discussing movements of the toes, the reference point for any abduction or adduction motion is the second toe or second metatarsal. Motion away from this metatarsal would be considered abduction while movement back toward the center of the bone would be adduction.

The fifth metatarsal is as easily recognized as the large first metatarsal due to its smaller size and presence of an obvious projection on the lateral side of its base. This projection is a tuberosity and the fifth metatarsal is the only metatarsal with such a feature.

Articulations
At the base of the bone, each metatarsal articulates with one or more of the tarsal bones. Articulation between the bases of the metatarsals is inherent in the structure of the foot. At the head of the metatarsal there will be a connection to the proximal phalanx corresponding to that metatarsal.

Muscle attachments
Some of the muscles from the leg attach on the metatarsals, such as tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, and peroneus brevis. Intrinsic muscles of the foot attachment to the metatarsal bones and include the interossei, abductors and flexors of the first and fifth toes and adductor hallucis.
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Phalanges

General information
There are five sets of phalanges, each of which is associated with its own metatarsal. The first toe has only two phalanges, the proximal and distal. The lateral four toes have three phalanges: the proximal, intermediate, and distal.

Articulations
Each proximal phalanx articulates with its companion metatarsal head and with the adjacent phalanx at the distal end of the bone. The lateral four toes have two joints in each toe, making another articulation between the distal end of the middle phalanx and the proximal end of the distal phalanx.

Muscle attachments
Muscles that flex or extend the digits of the foot will attach on certain aspects of the phalanges. In addition, the abductors and adductors of the toes attach on specific sides of the bases of the proximal phalanges. These include the specialized abductors and adductor of the first and fifth toes and the interossei of the middle toes.
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