The glabrous skin on the sole of the foot lacks the hair and pigmentation found elsewhere on the body, and it has a high concentration of sweat pores.

[medical citation needed] The sole is a sensory organ by which the ground can be perceived while standing and walking.

The subcutaneous tissue in the sole has adapted to deal with the high local compressive forces on the heel and the ball (between the toes and the arch) by developing a system of "pressure chambers."

The septa (internal walls) of these chambers are permeated by numerous blood vessels, making the sole one of the most vascularized, or blood-enriched, regions in the human body.

[1] The sole and the longitudinal arches of the foot are supported by a thick connective tissue, the plantar fascia.

The considerably smaller flexor digiti minimi brevis on the lateral side can be mistaken for one of the interossei.

[7] In Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and some Muslim countries, it is considered offensive to sit raising the leg so the uncovered sole of the foot is visible and therefore taboo.

In the palms, the pattern density is thickest in the central part, but in the sole, the density is thickest near the big toe whilst a large part of the remaining sole is covered by thick, tight, and smooth skin almost without furrows.

[9] In bonobos, the pattern intensity of the epidermal ridges (i.e. "fingerprints") of the palms and soles is considerably higher than in chimpanzees.