Intrinsic proportions of the human tarsus: an original approach to tarsal biometry

Few precise biometrical data on human tarsal bones are available, and those published consist principally of linear and angular measurements made on dried bones or on radiographs. The material consisted of 86 complete adult human tarsi (dried bones). The tarsal proportions were determined using the relative tarsal weights (Weight of each of the seven tarsal bones/Weight of the total tarsus×100). The calcaneus was the greatest tarsal bone (41.95%), and the talus the second-largest (28.45%). The medial cuneiform, the cuboid, and the navicular had very similar proportions (7.00–8.38%), as did the intermediate and lateral cuneiforms (2.98% and 3.81%). The study of the ranks of each bone by decreasing proportion allowed the determination of individual variability. The posterior tarsal row was considerably larger (70.40%) than the anterior row (29.60%), resulting in an antero-posterior ratio of 0.42. The medial and lateral tarsal columns had quite similar proportions (50.63% and 49.37%), resulting in a latero-medial ratio of 0.98. The intrinsic tarsal proportions are fundamental biometrical data which seem to be of interest for a better characterization of the human foot in clinical practice and for quantitative approaches in functional and comparative morphology and in paleontology.