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Home  »  Anatomy of the Human Body  »  pages 263

Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.

pages 263

  
The Tarsus (Ossa Tarsi)


The tarsal bones are seven in number, viz., the calcaneus, talus, cuboid, navicular, and the first, second, and third cuneiforms.

The Calcaneus (os calcis) (Figs. 264 to 267).—The calcaneus is the largest of the tarsal bones. It is situated at the lower and back part of the foot, serving to transmit the weight of the body to the ground, and forming a strong lever for the muscles of the calf. It is irregularly cuboidal in form, having its long axis directed forward and lateralward; it presents for examination six surfaces.


FIG. 266– Left calcaneus, lateral surface. (See enlarged image)


FIG. 267– Left calcaneus, medial surface. (See enlarged image)

Surfaces.—The superior surface extends behind on to that part of the bone which projects backward to form the heel. This varies in length in different individuals, is convex from side to side, concave from before backward, and supports a mass of fat placed in front of the tendo calcaneus. In front of this area is a large usually somewhat oval-shaped facet, the posterior articular surface, which looks upward and forward; it is convex from behind forward, and articulates with the posterior calcaneal facet on the under surface of the talus. It is bounded anteriorly by a deep depression which is continued backward and medialward in the form of a groove, the calcaneal sulcus. In the articulated foot this sulcus lies below a similar one on the under surface of the talus, and the two form a canal (sinus tarsi) for the