There are two leg bones:
1. The Tibia (which is the major leg bone, located on the medial (inside) part of the leg. This is the long leg bone to the left in the picture below.
2. The Fibula, the smaller leg bone, located on the lateral (outside) part of the leg. This is the long leg bone on the right in the picture below.
Most people consider the two bumps above the foot and on the inside and outside of the leg to be the ankle bones, but they're really simply part of the tibia and fibula. The true ankle bone is located beneath the Tibia. It is known as the Talus.
There are usually 26 bones in the foot, though this varies from person to person. There are usually 14 toe bones, known as phalanges. The big toe has two, and each of the other toes typically has three. A significant number of people only have two toe bones in the small toe, and others may only have two toe bones in some of the other toes.
| Behind each of the toes lie five long bones
known as the metatarsals. These are
the bones that make up the ball of the foot.
The first metatarsal (the one behind the big toe) typically has two (sometimes more, rarely fewer) small circular bones beneath it. They are located just behind the big toe joint. They are known as sesamoids, (from the Greek words for "resembling sesame seeds"). These bones help the pull of the tendons be more direct. On occasion, the foot may have other sesamoids, too. Behind the metatarsals are the five bones that make up the midfoot. Three of the bones in the midfoot are called cuneiforms, for their cuneiform shape. The are known as the first, second and third cuneiforms, or medial, central and lateral cuneiforms. Behind the three cuneiforms lie the other bones of the midfoot, the navicular and the cuboid bones. Finally, there are two additional bones in the foot--the heel bone, known as the calcaneus or os calcis, and the talus or ankle bone described above. |
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