Calcaneocuboid ligament
Ligamentum calcaneocuboideum
The lateral limb of the Y-shaped bifurcate ligament on the top of the foot, joining the front of the calcaneus to the cuboid.
At a glance
- English
- Calcaneocuboid ligament
- Latin (TA2)
- Ligamentum calcaneocuboideum
- System
- Ligament
- Region
- Foot
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the calcaneocuboid ligament
On the upper surface of the foot, just in front of the ankle, the calcaneus meets two bones: the cuboid in front of it and the navicular in front of the talus. The joint line across these bones, the transverse tarsal or Chopart joint, is braced on top by the bifurcate ligament. This ligament is shaped like a Y. Its stem attaches to a deep hollow on the upper surface of the front of the calcaneus, and it splits into two limbs: a medial calcaneonavicular part and a lateral calcaneocuboid part. The calcaneocuboid ligament is that lateral limb.
It is a short band that runs forwards from the calcaneal anterior process to the upper inner part of the cuboid. It sits next to, but separate from, the dorsal calcaneocuboid ligament, which is a broader, thinner sheet further out on the top of the same joint.
Together with the plantar ligaments underneath, the two limbs of the bifurcate ligament tie the calcaneus to both bones in front of it. This prevents the front of the foot from bending sharply downwards or twisting inwards at the transverse tarsal joint, and helps keep the lateral column of the foot firm during push-off.
The ligament is placed just in front of the sinus tarsi and is easy to injure in an inversion sprain, when the forefoot is forced inwards and downwards. Instead of tearing, it may pull off a small piece of the anterior process of the calcaneus. This avulsion fracture is easily mistaken for an ordinary ankle sprain, and tenderness a little in front of the usual sprain site is the clue.
Attachments and function
- Attaches from
- The anterior process of the calcaneus, on its dorsal aspect, by the common stem of the bifurcate ligament.
- Attaches to
- The dorsomedial surface of the cuboid.
- Function
- Binds the calcaneus to the cuboid across the top of the transverse tarsal joint and resists plantar flexion and inversion of the forefoot.
- Nerve supply
- Branches of the deep fibular nerve and the lateral dorsal cutaneous branch of the sural nerve.
- Blood supply
- The lateral tarsal artery, a branch of the dorsalis pedis artery.
Anthromica
See the calcaneocuboid ligament where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
