Evolution
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Feet and fins
Biomechanics Foot Fish fins EvolutionWhy do our feet look the way they do? Believe it or not, some of us do ask ourselves this question.
Stiffness of the human foot and evolution of the transverse arch
Venkadesan, Yawar, Eng, Dias, Singh, Tommasini, Haims, Bandi and Mandre
Biomechanics
Foot
Evolution
The stiff human foot enables an efficient push-off when walking or running, and was critical for the evolution of bipedalism. The uniquely arched morphology of the human midfoot is thought to stiffen it, whereas other primates have flat feet that bend severely in the midfoot. However, the relationship between midfoot geometry and stiffness remains debated in foot biomechanics, podiatry and palaeontology. These debates centre on the medial longitudinal arch and have not considered whether stiffness is affected by the second, transverse tarsal arch of the human foot.