THE JOINTS OF THE EVOLVING FOOT .1. THE ANKLE JOINT

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 130  (MAY) , 527-543
Abstract
Evidence is presented to suggest that the eutherian ankle joint was derived from a meniscus-containing joint such as in extant arboreal marsupials. Probable morphological derivatives of this meniscus are the calcaneofibular ligament, the inferior transverse tibiofibular ligament and a variable forward prolongation of the latter. Loss of this meniscus in the early Eutheria was associated with refashioning of the talar body into a trochlear shape; these progressive changes appear to have been correlated with an essentially terrestrial habitat. From such stock was derived the primitively arboreal Primate order; the form and function of the ankle joint are described in representative examples. Further adaptations characterizing the joint in bipedal man are also discussed.