Transverse arch of the foot

Transverse arch of the foot
Skeleton of foot. Medial aspect.
Skeleton of foot. Lateral aspect.
Latin	arcus pedis transversalis
Gray's	subject #101 360
Dorlands/Elsevier	a_58/12150685

In addition to the longitudinal arches the foot presents a series of transverse arches.

At the posterior part of the metatarsus and the anterior part of the tarsus the arches are complete, but in the middle of the tarsus they present more the characters of half-domes the concavities of which are directed downward and medialward, so that when the medial borders of the feet are placed in apposition a complete tarsal dome is formed.

The transverse arches are strengthened by the interosseous, plantar, and dorsal ligaments, by the short muscles of the first and fifth toes (especially the transverse head of the Adductor hallucis), and by the Peronæus longus, whose tendon stretches across between the piers of the arches.

See also

• Flat feet

External links

• Diagram at umich.edu
• Diagram at slackbooks.com
• Overview at gla.ac.uk

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.