Calcaneonavicular ligament
Ligamentum calcaneonaviculare
The medial limb of the Y-shaped bifurcate ligament on the top of the foot, joining the front of the calcaneus to the navicular.
At a glance
- English
- Calcaneonavicular ligament
- Latin (TA2)
- Ligamentum calcaneonaviculare
- System
- Ligament
- Region
- Foot
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the calcaneonavicular ligament
The bifurcate ligament lies on the dorsum of the foot just in front of the ankle, over the transverse tarsal joint where the hindfoot meets the midfoot. It is a Y-shaped ligament with a single stem fixed to a deep hollow on the top of the front of the calcaneus. In front the stem divides into two limbs: the calcaneocuboid part laterally and the calcaneonavicular part medially. This page describes the medial limb, the calcaneonavicular ligament.
From the anterior process of the calcaneus the ligament passes forwards and inwards to end on the navicular's outer side. It lies on top of the joint between the calcaneus and navicular, which do not touch each other directly; the head of the talus fills the space between them. The ligament therefore helps form the outer, upper wall of the cavity in which the talar head sits, the talocalcaneonavicular joint.
It must not be confused with the plantar calcaneonavicular ligament, often called the spring ligament, which runs between the same two bones but on the sole. The spring ligament forms a sling under the head of the talus and supports the medial arch; the dorsal limb of the bifurcate ligament does not carry that load.
With the calcaneocuboid limb, the ligament ties the calcaneus to both bones of the midfoot and resists the forefoot bending down and twisting inwards. It is commonly injured in inversion sprains, and the force can avulse a fragment of the anterior process of the calcaneus. Such a fracture causes tenderness in front of the usual ankle sprain point and may need an oblique X-ray to be seen.
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 lateral surface of the navicular.
- Function
- Ties the calcaneus to the navicular 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.
- Blood supply
- The lateral tarsal artery and other branches of the dorsalis pedis artery.
Anthromica
See the calcaneonavicular 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.
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