Overview
The human foot is a highly developed, biomechanically complex structure that serves to bear the weight of the body as well as forces many times the weight of the human body during propulsion.
About 26 bones in the human foot provide structural support. They can be grouped into 3 parts, as follows
:
The tarsal bones (7)
The metatarsal bones (5)
The phalanges (14)
Apart from these main bones, the sesamoid bones help improve function and are often found as variants of the accessory bones.
The foot itself can be divided into 3 parts: the hindfoot, the midfoot, and the forefoot. The hindfoot is composed of 2 of the 7 tarsal bones, the talus, and the calcaneus; the midfoot contains the rest of the tarsal bones; and the forefoot contains the metatarsals and the phalanges.
The images below depict the bones of the foot.
Bones of the foot, dorsal and ventral views.
Bones of the foot, medial and lateral views.