Dorsal calcaneocuboid ligament
Ligamentum calcaneocuboideum dorsale
A thin, broad band across the top of the joint between the calcaneus and the cuboid on the outer side of the foot.
At a glance
- English
- Dorsal calcaneocuboid ligament
- Latin (TA2)
- Ligamentum calcaneocuboideum dorsale
- System
- Ligament
- Region
- Foot
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the dorsal calcaneocuboid ligament
The calcaneocuboid joint lies on the outer side of the midfoot, where the front of the heel bone meets the cuboid. Together with the talonavicular joint it forms the transverse tarsal (Chopart) joint, the line across which the forefoot twists on the hindfoot. The calcaneocuboid joint has a capsule of its own, reinforced by several ligaments, and the dorsal calcaneocuboid ligament, also called the superior calcaneocuboid ligament, covers its upper surface.
It is a thin but fairly wide sheet of fibres. It passes forwards from the upper surface of the calcaneus, close to the edge of its cuboid facet, to the upper surface of the cuboid behind its ridge. It lies on the dorsolateral side of the joint, outside and slightly below the calcaneocuboid limb of the bifurcate ligament, which crosses the inner part of the same joint. Under the foot the joint is held by much stronger bands: the long plantar ligament and the short plantar (plantar calcaneocuboid) ligament.
Its position on top of the joint means it tightens when the forefoot bends downwards and twists inwards. In this way it gives a modest check to plantar flexion and inversion at the lateral column, while the plantar ligaments do the main work of holding up the lateral arch.
Because it is thin, the ligament is easily stretched or torn in inversion injuries of the foot, sometimes with a small flake of bone pulled off the cuboid or calcaneus. Such midfoot sprains are often missed when attention is fixed on the ankle, and they cause pain and swelling over the outer top of the foot.
Attachments and function
- Attaches from
- The upper surface of the calcaneus near the margin of its cuboid facet.
- Attaches to
- The upper surface of the cuboid.
- Function
- Reinforces the top of the calcaneocuboid joint and gives a mild check to plantar flexion and inversion of the forefoot.
- Nerve supply
- The deep fibular nerve and the sural nerve through its lateral dorsal cutaneous branch.
- Blood supply
- The lateral tarsal artery.
Anthromica
See the dorsal 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.
