heel

heel, in anatomy, back part of the human foot, below the ankle and behind the arch, and the corresponding part of the foot in other mammals that walk with their heels touching the ground, such as the raccoon and the bear; it corresponds to the point of the hock of hoofed mammals and those that walk on their toes (e.g., horse, dog, cat). The contained tarsal bone, the calcaneus, appears first among the crocodilian reptiles; it was lost in birds by fusion with other tarsals and metatarsals but retained in mammals.

In humans the heel consists of the calcaneus (largest of the tarsal bones), cushioned below by a bursal sac, fat pad, and thickened skin. The calcaneus is roughly rectangular, articulating above with the talus bone of the ankle joint and in front with the cuboid, another tarsal bone. Posteriorly, a roughened area, the tuber calcanei, takes much of the weight in standing. On one side of this is a small protuberance, the lateral process, developed only in humans, related to balance in the upright position. The Achilles tendon (tendo calcaneus) attaches to the posterior border of the calcaneus. The calcaneus functions both as a lever for muscles of the calf in walking and as a weight-bearing structure in standing.