It is made up of the midfoot (cuboid, medial, intermediate, and lateral cuneiform, and navicular) and hindfoot (talus and calcaneus).

Functional motion during the gait cycle is 10-15 degrees (the heel strikes the ground in slight inversion followed by quick eversion).

[2] The motions of the subtalar and transverse talar joints interact to make the foot either flexible or rigid.

There are three proximal tarsals, the tibiale, intermedium, and fibulare, named for their points of articulation with the bones of the lower limb.

In the great majority of tetrapods, including all of those alive today, this simple pattern is modified by the loss and fusion of some of the bones.

[3] In reptiles and mammals, there are normally just two proximal tarsals, the calcaneus (equivalent to the amphibian fibulare) and the talus (probably derived from a fusion of multiple bones).

In mammals, including humans, the talus forms a hinge joint with the tibia, a feature especially well developed in the artiodactyls.