the.com/tarsal
the seven bones quietly engineering every step you'll ever take for granted
means Relating to the tarsus — the cluster of bones forming the ankle and back of the foot — or, in zoology, the corresponding segment of an insect's leg.
from From the Greek 'tarsos,' which originally meant a flat surface — specifically a frame for drying things, and from there the flat of the foot. It traveled into anatomical Latin and English as the name for the bony architecture of the ankle, while still carrying that ancient sense of something flat and load-bearing underfoot.
- count
- seven bones cluster in each human ankle
- weight bearer
- the talus carries your whole body's load
- eyelid too
- tarsal plates also stiffen your eyelids
- largest
- calcaneus, your heel bone, leads the pack
- insect echo
- insects have tarsi at the tips of legs
tarsal tunnel syndrome — compression of tibial nerve in medial ankle, affecting ~1 in 2000 people with chronic foot pain
tarsal coalition — abnormal fusion of tarsal bones, present in ~13% of population, causes rigid flatfoot