Dorsal cuneocuboid ligament
Ligamentum cuneocuboideum dorsale
A short band of fibres on the top of the midfoot joining the lateral cuneiform bone to the cuboid.
At a glance
- English
- Dorsal cuneocuboid ligament
- Latin (TA2)
- Ligamentum cuneocuboideum dorsale
- System
- Ligament
- Region
- Foot
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the dorsal cuneocuboid ligament
In the middle of the foot the bones are arranged in a transverse row: the three cuneiforms on the inner side and the cuboid on the outer side. The lateral cuneiform sits against the inner surface of the cuboid at a small plane joint, the cuneocuboid joint, which often shares its synovial cavity with the joints between the cuneiforms and the navicular. Three ligaments bind these two bones: one on top, one underneath and one between them.
The dorsal cuneocuboid ligament is the one on top. It is a short, flat, roughly four-sided band whose fibres run nearly horizontally across the joint line, from the upper surface of the lateral cuneiform to the upper surface of the cuboid. It lies deep to the tendons of extensor digitorum longus and brevis and the branches of the dorsalis pedis artery and deep fibular nerve on the top of the foot.
Its partners are the interosseous cuneocuboid ligament, a strong band filling the space between the two bones, and the plantar cuneocuboid ligament on the sole. The interosseous band is the strongest of the three; the dorsal ligament is relatively thin.
Together these ligaments hold the cuboid and the cuneiforms in a firm transverse arch, so that the midfoot behaves as a rigid lever during push-off. They allow only slight gliding. Injury to the dorsal ligament is unusual on its own but can occur with twisting or crushing midfoot injuries, which can widen the gaps between the bones and may involve the neighbouring tarsometatarsal (Lisfranc) joints.
Attachments and function
- Attaches from
- The dorsal surface of the lateral cuneiform.
- Attaches to
- The dorsal surface of the cuboid.
- Function
- Binds the lateral cuneiform to the cuboid across the top of the cuneocuboid joint and helps maintain the transverse arch of the midfoot.
- Nerve supply
- Branches of the deep fibular nerve.
- Blood supply
- Branches of the lateral tarsal and dorsalis pedis arteries.
Anthromica
See the dorsal cuneocuboid 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.
