A mnemonic for the tarsal bones, and how to check it on a real foot

1. Know the seven tarsal bones before you memorize them

The open textbook chapter on the bones of the lower limb describes the posterior half of the foot as seven tarsal bones. The talus is the most superior one: its upper surface articulates with the tibia and the fibula to form the ankle joint. Below it lies the calcaneus, the heel bone, the largest bone of the foot. Body weight passes from the tibia to the talus, then to the calcaneus, which rests on the ground.

In front of the talus sits the navicular, and in front of the navicular the three cuneiforms: medial, intermediate and lateral. The cuboid articulates with the front of the calcaneus, on the outer side of the foot. Our calcaneus page shows the heel bone with the sustentaculum tali, the shelf on its medial side that supports the talus.

Learn where each bone sits first. A mnemonic only helps once the names attach to places, otherwise you end up reciting words without being able to point at a single bone.

2. Put the 7 tarsal bone names in order

The human anatomy and physiology lab manual from the LOUIS library network gives the classic sentence and the route behind it: start with the biggest tarsal bone at the heel, move up and forward, then cross the foot from the medial side to the lateral side, ending with the cube-shaped bone.

Say the route aloud as you recite: heel, up, forward, then across. The three cuneiforms come in the order of their names, medial first, so "Milk Is Like" runs from the big toe side outward before "Cream" lands on the cuboid.

3. How to memorize tarsal bones with their names

Each name already describes its bone, and our atlas pages give the meaning of every one. Use the meaning as a second hook next to the sentence:

The wedge shape is more than a name. The textbook explains that each cuneiform has a broad upper surface and a narrow lower one, and together they produce the side to side curve of the foot. Our cuneiforms page adds that the medial cuneiform is the largest of the three and the intermediate one the smallest.

4. Group the bones before you recite them

The same chapter sorts the seven bones into three groups, which gives you a built-in check on the sentence:

• Proximal group: the calcaneus and the talus.
• Intermediate: the navicular, on its own.
• Distal group: the cuboid and the three cuneiforms.

That makes two plus one plus four, seven in all. If your recitation gives you a different count, a bone went missing or got duplicated. The groups also match the mnemonic: "Chris Told" is the proximal pair, "Nora" the intermediate bone, and "Milk Is Like Cream" the distal row.

Keep the arches in mind as well. The textbook places the talus at the top of the longitudinal arches, where it receives the weight of the body, and the calcaneus at their back end, where they meet the ground. Picturing that arch helps you place the talus above the calcaneus instead of beside it. The transverse arch runs across the mid-foot, formed by the wedge shapes of the cuneiforms and the bases of the first four metatarsals.

5. How to remember tarsal bones on a real foot

In a practical you will hold loose bones or point at an articulated foot, so tie each name to something you can see or feel:

1. Calcaneus: the biggest bone, with the bump of the heel at the back.
2. Talus: the bone on top, with a rounded head pointing forward toward the navicular. Our atlas notes that no muscle attaches to it; ligaments alone hold it in place.
3. Navicular: on the medial side, in front of the talus, with a tuberosity on its medial surface that you can feel.
4. Cuboid: on the lateral side, with a deep groove across its lower surface where a muscle tendon passes.
5. Cuneiforms: three wedges, the medial one the largest, the intermediate one the smallest.

Our atlas adds two facts that make good exam cues: the calcaneus is the first tarsal bone to ossify and the navicular the last. Work from the heel forward, exactly as the sentence does, and name each bone before you touch the next one.

6. Tell the tarsal bones from the metatarsals

The tarsal bones are short, blocky bones at the back half of the foot; the metatarsals that follow are long. The textbook describes the anterior half of the foot as five metatarsal bones, numbered 1 to 5 from the medial side. The first is shorter and thicker than the others, the second is the longest, and the base of the fifth has a large lateral expansion that you can feel as a bump halfway along the outer border of the foot.

The bases of the metatarsals articulate with the cuboid and the cuneiforms, which is where the end of the mnemonic leads you: after "Milk Is Like Cream" you step onto the metatarsals. Their heads rest on the ground and form the ball of the foot, so the foot touches the ground at the calcaneus behind and at the metatarsal heads in front.

7. Test yourself with a blank grid

Draw seven boxes in the shape of the foot seen from above: two at the back, one in the middle on the medial side, and four across the front. Fill them in from memory, then check them against the first table. Repeat the next day without looking at your notes.

When you revise from photos of real bones, Osteo+ can name the bone in the picture, so you can check an answer before you move on. The same method works for the wrist, and our guide to the carpal bones mnemonic applies it to the eight carpal bones.

Before the practical

Recite the sentence once a day for a week, each time pointing at the matching box of your grid. On the last day, swap the grid for a real foot or a photo and check that every word still lands on the right bone.

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