- Plantar aponeurosis: thickened central part of the deep fascia of the sole, triangular in shape.
Features
- Apex: attached to the medial tubercle of the calcaneum, proximal to the attachment of flexor digitorum brevis.
- Base: near the heads of the metatarsals, divides into five bands, one for each toe.
plantar aponeurosis, plantar view of the sole Plantar aponeurosis, plantar view of the sole.
- At the point of division the five processes are bound by transverse fascial fibres; digital nerves and vessels pass through the intervals between them.
- Each band splits opposite the metatarsophalangeal joints into a superficial slip, attached to the dermis and blending with the superficial transverse metatarsal ligaments, and a deep slip.
- The deep slip divides into two parts that embrace the flexor tendons, blending with the fibrous flexor sheaths and deep transverse metatarsal ligaments.
- Medial and lateral vertical intermuscular septa arise from the aponeurosis's margins and divide the plantar muscles into three groups: medial, intermediate and lateral.
- Thinner transverse septa, arising from the vertical septa, divide the muscles of the sole into four layers.