THE INTEROSSEOUS LIGAMENTS. 



441 



joints, it is best first to study the ligaments of the foot all together, beginning with 

 such as are essential parts of the framework ; then to examine the joints seriatim; 

 and, finally, to discuss the motions of the foot as a whole. In the case of the smaller 



Fig. 458. 



Tibia 



Posterior tibio-fibular 

 ligament 



Fibula 



Interosseousy 

 astragalo-calca--A 

 neal ligament 



Calcaneo-scaphoid 

 ligament 



Cubo scaphoid lig 



Cuboid- 

 Cubo-cuneifomi ligament 



Cuneiform bones 



Intercuneiform 

 and inner tarso- 

 metatarsal 

 ligaments 



First 

 metatar- 

 sal 



: ^ r' ; ' . - v Second 

 si--l^'1'''X metatarsal 



Third metatarsal 



Fourth metatarsal 



Fifth metatarsal 



Oblique section through the right foot. 



ligaments it is our object to avoid pedantic attention to useless details. We shall 

 consider first the interosseous ligaments, then the dorsal, and lastly the plantar ones. 



THE INTEROSSEOUS LIGAMENTS. 



The astragalo-calcaneal (Fig. 457) is a thick layer of fibres filling the 

 groove between the two adjacent articular surfaces of each bone. At the outer 

 part, where the groove widens, it tends to divide into two layers. A considerable 

 quantity of fat is found in its meshes. Each side of it is lined by the synovial mem- 

 brane of the joints which it separates. An occasional superficial band — the external 

 astragalo-calcaneal (Fig. 457) — may be continuous with this ligament. 



The calcaneo-cubo-scaphoid (Fig. 460) (seen by removing the astragalus 

 and the synovial membrane covering it) is a series of short, strong fibres, collected 

 mto bundles, joining the front of the calcaneum with the outer border of the scaph- 

 oid, and by a weaker division with the inner side of the cuboid. It forms the outer 

 part of the capsule for the head of the astragalus, reaching to the dorsum. This 

 capsule is completed by the superior and inferior calcaneo-scaphoid ligaments. 



