Anatomy study note · Lower limb

Metatarsal bones

Five long bones of the forefoot, numbered from the big-toe side, each with a base, shaft and head.

Key points

• MT1: strongest; 2 sesamoids under its head.
• MT5 tubercle ← fibularis brevis (avulsion in inversion).
• Stress fracture: MT2–4.
• Shaft: primary centre; ends: secondary centres; growth at the epiphyseal plate.
• Limb bones: limb-bud mesenchyme, endochondral (except clavicle).
• Long bone: endochondral ossification; epiphyseal plate closes ~20 y.
• Bone: type I collagen + hydroxyapatite.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 1269–1270
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 7, PDF pp. 98, 102–104; ch. 10, PDF pp. 141, 145
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 7, PDF pp. 121–125, 126–129, 130

More from the lower limb

• Patella
• Pectineus
• Phalanges of the foot
• Plantar aponeurosis
• Plantar arteries
• Plantar nerves
• Plantaris
• Popliteal artery
• Popliteal lymph nodes
• Popliteal vein
• Popliteus
• Posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh

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