Question

How many bones are in the human ankle?

Answer 1

Hint: Ankle is the joint between foot and leg. This ankle plays an important role in locomotion and limb stability. The two main movements of the ankle are plantarflexion and dorsiflexion.

Complete answer:
The bones of ankles are complex and are formed of two joints i.e. subtalar joint and true ankle joint. The true ankle joint is formed by three bones which is responsible for the up and down motions of the foot:

Tibia or shinbone is the inner bone. It supports a person’s weight while standing.
Fibula or calf bone is the outer bone.
Talus or ankle bone is located underneath to which the tibia and fibula are joined.

Another joint is the subtalar joint; it consists of two bones that help in the side-to-side motion of the foot. It contains talus bone on the top and calcaneus bone at the bottom. Calcaneus forms the heel of the foot.

Other than this there are few bony protrusions one can feel on the ankle are lateral malleolus and medial malleolus. The lateral malleolus is the outer ankle bone formed by the distal end of the fibula and the Medial malleolus is the inner ankle bone formed by the distal end of the tibia.

The components of the ankle along with the muscles and tendons of the lower leg endures and maintains the stress as humans use it to walk and jump.

Note: The ligaments (fibrous tissue that joins bone to bone) hold up the bones of the joints. These ligaments are calcaneofibular, deltoid, anterior talofibular, and posterior talofibular ligaments.