Fourth metatarsal bone at a glance
- Also called
- fourth metatarsal
- What it is
- A lesser metatarsal on the lateral side of the foot. 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
- FMA24514 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Its base articulates with the cuboid and lateral cuneiform.
- The second plantar interosseous arises from its medial side.
Clinical relevance
A Morton neuroma, a thickening of the plantar digital nerve, most often lies between the heads of the third and fourth metatarsals.
Structures next to the fourth metatarsal bone
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Fourth lumbrical of foot · muscular
- Second plantar interosseous of foot · muscular
- Third metatarsal bone · skeletal
- Third plantar interosseous of foot · muscular
- Third lumbrical of foot · muscular
- Oblique head of adductor hallucis · muscular
- Fifth metatarsal bone · skeletal
- Flexor digitorum brevis · muscular
- Flexor digiti minimi brevis of foot · muscular
- First plantar interosseous of foot · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Fourth metatarsal bone (FMA24514). 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.