Ligament · Foot

Intersesamoid ligament of hallux

Ligamentum intersesamoideum

A thick band joining the two pea-sized sesamoid bones that lie beneath the head of the first metatarsal, embedded in the tendon of flexor hallucis brevis. Stretched between them it forms a smooth-floored groove, and running along that groove is the tendon of flexor hallucis longus on its way to the tip of the big toe. So this ligament is not merely a tie between two bones — it is the roof and rail that keep a working tendon on course underneath the ball of the foot. It is the centrepiece of the sesamoid complex, the small apparatus through which the great toe pushes off.