Tarsal Bones
The tarsal bones form the posterior part of the foot. They are made up of seven short bones. While each of these bones have individual names, the two largest are important to know by their individual names. The tarsal bone that articulates with the leg is called the talus. The largest of the tarsal bones that is inferior to the talus and is commonly referred to as the heel bone is the calcaneous. The talus transfers the weight from the tibia to the calcaneous.
Metatarsal Bones
Like with the hand there are five long bones in the anterior part of the foot called metatarsals. These are distinguished from each other by their number (1-5) starting with the medial side of the foot and preceding toward the lateral side of the foot. The metatarsals articulate with the tarsals at their proximal ends and the phalanges of the foot at their distal end.
Phalanges
The toes contain 14 bones called phalanges. They are identified in a similar manner as the phalanges of the fingers. Each toes has three phalanges (proximal, middle, and distal) except for the big toe (hallux) that has two phalanges (proximal and distal).
Arches in the Foot
When the foot comes into contact with the ground during walking, running, or jumping activities, the impact of the body weight puts a tremendous amount of pressure and force on the foot. During running, the force applied to each foot as it contacts the ground can be up to 2.5 times your body weight. The bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles of the foot absorb this force, thus greatly reducing the amount of shock that is passed superiorly into the lower limb and body. The arches of the foot play an important role in this shock-absorbing ability. When weight is applied to the foot, these arches will flatten somewhat, thus absorbing energy. When the weight is removed, the arch rebounds, giving "spring" to the step. The arches also serve to distribute body weight side to side and to either end of the foot.
