Talocalcaneal interosseous ligament
Ligamentum talocalcaneum interosseum
A thick, strong ligament in the tunnel between the talus and calcaneus, binding the two bones together beneath the ankle.
At a glance
- English
- Talocalcaneal interosseous ligament
- Latin (TA2)
- Ligamentum talocalcaneum interosseum
- System
- Ligament
- Region
- Foot
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the talocalcaneal interosseous ligament
The talocalcaneal interosseous ligament lies in the tarsal sinus and tarsal canal, the tunnel that runs obliquely between the talus above and the calcaneus below. The tunnel is formed by two matching grooves, the sulcus tali on the underside of the talus and the calcaneal sulcus on the top of the calcaneus. It opens on the lateral side of the foot, in front of the lateral malleolus, as a funnel-shaped space, and narrows medially into the canal behind the sustentaculum tali.
The ligament fills much of this tunnel. It is a thick, flattened band, often in two layers, whose fibres run downwards and laterally from the sulcus tali to the calcaneal sulcus. It separates two joints. Behind it lies the posterior talocalcaneal joint, the subtalar joint in the narrow sense. In front of it lies the talocalcaneonavicular joint, where the head of the talus sits in a socket formed by the calcaneus, the navicular and the spring ligament.
It is the main bond between the talus and the calcaneus. The axis of the movements of inversion and eversion runs obliquely through the region of the tarsal sinus, and the ligament lies close to that axis, so it holds the bones together while still allowing them to move. In many accounts it becomes taut as the foot everts and so helps limit eversion. Small arteries enter the talus from the tunnel, alongside the ligament, and they are an important part of the blood supply of the talar body.
Pain and tenderness over the lateral opening of the tunnel after an ankle sprain, known as sinus tarsi syndrome, may reflect injury to this ligament and the soft tissue around it, and instability of the subtalar joint can follow its tearing.
Attachments and function
- Attaches from
- The sulcus tali on the underside of the talus.
- Attaches to
- The calcaneal sulcus on the upper surface of the calcaneus.
- Function
- Binds the talus to the calcaneus, separates the subtalar and talocalcaneonavicular joints and, in many accounts, limits eversion.
- Blood supply
- The artery of the tarsal canal and the artery of the tarsal sinus, which run in the tunnel beside it.
Anthromica
See the talocalcaneal interosseous 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.
