How Many Bones in The Foot

There are 26 bones in the human foot, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons. The 52 bones in your feet make up about 25 percent of all the bones in your body.

Mid-Foot
The middle area of the foot is composed of five bones. The navicular bone is nearest the calcaneus and is rectangularly shaped. On the inside of the arch is the medial cuneiform , and working outward toward the lateral side of the foot is intermediate cuneiform , the smallest of the mid-foot bones. Next is the lateral cuneiform with the cuboid, the largest mid-foot bone, on the side opposite the arch.

Long Bones
The long bones of the foot are the first metatarsal on the arch or big toe side of the foot. Beside that is the second metatarsal, then the third metatarsal, the fourth metatarsal and the fifth metatarsal on the little toe side.

Toe Bones
The big toe consists of two bones: the proximal phalanx of the great toe nearest the first metatarsal, and the distal phalanx of the great toe. The next toe, or second toe, contains three bones: the proximal phalanx of the second toe, the middle phalanx of the second toe, and the distal phalanx of the second toe. The third, fourth and fifth toes also contain three similarly named bones each.

Totals
There are 26 bones in each foot if we do not count the two tiny round sesamoid bones found in the tendon beneath the first metatarsal. We have 33 joints in each foot and ankle, myriad blood vessels and nerves throughout and a large cushion of fat under the calcaneus.

The human foot and ankle is a strong and complex mechanical structure containing more than 26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments.

The foot can be subdivided into the hindfoot, the midfoot, and the forefoot:

The hindfoot is composed of the talus (or ankle bone) and the calcaneus (or heel bone). The two long bones of the lower leg, the tibia and fibula, are connected to the top of the talus to form the ankle. Connected to the talus at the subtalar joint, the calcaneus, the largest bone of the foot, is cushioned inferiorly by a layer of fat.

The five irregular bones of the midfoot, the cuboid, navicular, and three cuneiform bones, form the arches of the foot which serves as a shock absorber. The midfoot is connected to the hind- and fore-foot by muscles and the plantar fascia.

The forefoot is composed of five toes and the corresponding five proximal long bones forming the metatarsus. Similar to the fingers of the hand, the bones of the toes are called phalanges and the big toe has two phalanges while the other four toes have three phalanges. The joints between the phalanges are called interphalangeal and those between the metatarsus and phalanges are called metatarsophalangeal (MTP).

Both the midfoot and forefoot constitute the dorsum (the area facing upwards while standing) and the planum (the area facing downwards while standing).

The instep is the arched part of the top of the foot between the toes and the ankle.