First metatarsal bone at a glance
- Also called
- first metatarsal
- What it is
- The shortest, thickest metatarsal, supporting the big toe. One of the five long bones of the forefoot.
- Location
- Lies between the tarsal bones of the midfoot and the proximal phalanx of its toe.
- Function
- Forms the arches and forefoot, bearing weight and acting as a lever in walking.
- Body system
- Skeletal · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA24508 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Its base articulates with the medial cuneiform; tibialis anterior and fibularis longus insert there.
- Two sesamoid bones lie beneath its head.
- It bears the greatest share of forefoot load among the metatarsals.
Clinical relevance
In hallux valgus (bunion) the first metatarsal deviates medially while the big toe deviates laterally.
Structures next to the first metatarsal bone
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Lateral head of flexor hallucis brevis · muscular
- Medial head of flexor hallucis brevis · muscular
- Second metatarsal bone · skeletal
- First lumbrical of foot · muscular
- Deep plantar artery · cardiovascular
- Oblique head of adductor hallucis · muscular
- Second lumbrical of foot · muscular
- Extensor hallucis brevis · muscular
- Sesamoid bone of foot · skeletal
- Third metatarsal bone · skeletal
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: First metatarsal bone (FMA24508). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §7.1 Divisions of the Skeletal System. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.