In: Anatomy and Physiology
The presence of arches of the foot makes the soul concave both anteroposteriorly and transversely.
There are two types of arches - longitudinal and transverse
There are two longitudinal arches in the foot - medial and lateral
There are two transverse arches - anterior and posterior.
Transverse arches :
Anterior transverse arch - The heads of metatarsal form the anterior transverse arch.
It is a complete arch because during standing position the head of first and fifth metatarsal comes into contact with the ground and form the two ends of the arch.
Posterior transverse arch -
It is formed by greater parts of tarsus and metatarsus. It is an incomplete arch because only the lateral and comes into contact with the ground during the standing position. It forms only half of the dome in one foot. The complete some are formed when the two feet are bought together.
Longitudinal arch :
Lateral longitudinal arch: It is formed by the calcaneum, cuboid, and lateral two metatarsals. It is characteristically low and almost touches the ground.
Medial longitudinal arch: It is formed by calcaneum, talus, navicular, three cuneiform, medial three metatarsal.