There are 7 tarsal bones in each human foot, making 14 total across both feet. These bones form the back and middle portions of the foot, sitting between your leg bones above and the long metatarsal bones that lead to your toes. They’re the foot’s equivalent of the carpal bones in your wrist, and they handle the enormous job of absorbing and distributing your body weight with every step.
The 7 Tarsal Bones by Name
The seven tarsals split into two functional groups based on their location in the foot.
The hindfoot contains two bones:
- Talus: sits on top of the heel bone and connects directly to the two leg bones (tibia and fibula) to form the ankle joint. It supports your leg’s weight and helps stabilize your foot’s arch.
- Calcaneus: the largest tarsal bone, forming the heel. It absorbs impact when your foot strikes the ground.
The midfoot contains five bones:
- Navicular: a boat-shaped bone on the inner side of the foot, sitting in front of the talus.
- Cuboid: a cube-shaped bone on the outer side of the foot, sitting in front of the calcaneus.
- Three cuneiforms (medial, intermediate, and lateral): a row of wedge-shaped bones that sit between the navicular behind them and the first three metatarsals in front.
How the Tarsals Work Together
These seven bones don’t just stack passively. They form a network of joints that allow your foot to adapt to uneven surfaces, absorb shock, and push off the ground when you walk or run. The subtalar joint, where the talus sits on top of the calcaneus, controls the side-to-side rocking motion of your foot. The transverse tarsal joint, a combination of the joint between the talus and navicular on the inner foot and the calcaneus and cuboid on the outer foot, lets the front of your foot twist relative to the back.
The joints between the navicular, cuneiforms, and cuboid are small gliding joints. They don’t move much individually, but together they provide just enough flexibility to let the midfoot flex and absorb force. These joints also communicate with the joints where the tarsals meet the metatarsals, creating a continuous chain of small movements that keeps your foot both stable and adaptable.
How the Tarsals Form During Childhood
Babies aren’t born with fully hardened tarsal bones. The tarsals begin as cartilage and gradually turn to bone (ossify) on a schedule that spans from before birth through early childhood. The calcaneus and talus start hardening around the sixth month of pregnancy, which is why they’re already partially formed at birth. The cuboid ossifies right around the time a baby is born.
The remaining bones follow over the next several years: the lateral cuneiform hardens during the first year, the medial cuneiform between ages 2 and 3, and the intermediate cuneiform between ages 3 and 4. The navicular is the last tarsal to ossify, typically between ages 4 and 5. This is one reason children’s feet are so flexible compared to adults’, and it’s also why foot X-rays in young children can look deceptively “empty” in the midfoot area.
Which Tarsals Are Most Prone to Injury
The calcaneus is the most commonly fractured tarsal bone. These fractures typically happen from a fall or jump where the heel takes the full force of landing, compressing the bone from above and below. Falls from height are the classic cause, and the injury can be severe enough to flatten the bone’s normal shape.
Midfoot tarsal fractures involving the navicular, cuboid, or cuneiforms are less common but do occur. The typical mechanism is landing from a jump or stepping off a curb awkwardly, where the foot is pointed downward and rolls inward under the body’s weight. Direct trauma, like dropping something heavy on the top of the foot, can also fracture these smaller bones. Navicular fractures in particular are notorious for being difficult to spot on standard X-rays, sometimes requiring advanced imaging to confirm.
How Tarsals Compare to Other Bone Groups
Each foot has 26 bones total. The 7 tarsals make up just over a quarter of that count but account for a disproportionate share of the foot’s structural mass. The calcaneus alone is the largest bone in the entire foot. By comparison, the 5 metatarsals form the long middle section, and the 14 phalanges make up the toes. The arrangement mirrors the hand, where 8 carpal bones play a similar role in the wrist, though the foot’s tarsals are larger and more tightly interlocked because they bear far more weight.