JOINTS oF.) The muscles of the great toe are remarkable, as might be expected, for their size and strength. The long flexor is considerably larger than that common to the other toes, and gives to this a slip of its tendon, so that the flexor longus pol licis does in fact assist in flexing all the toes.
The general arrangement of all the muscles and tendons in the sole is very curious, and has a further object than the mere flexion of the toes. The great toe is, as we see, well provided, and it needs this, since it bears the greatest share of the burden of the body in walking, &e. The muscular provision for the other toes is as considerable, and indeed more so, in pro portion to the size of the toes. There is, 1st, the flexor brevis digitorurn; 2d, the flexor longus digitorum ; 3d, this tendon receives an aux iliary tendon from the long flexor of the great toe; 4th, the massa carnea; 5th, the lumbricales. There can be little doubt that the use of all these muscles is to give a powerful support to the antero-posterior arch of the foot, to which purpose the mere ligaments would be little equal. But we must admire not only the
number and force but the arrangement of these muscles, which are so placed as to act, almost all of them, from the same centre, and there fore with greater advantage for the object of strengthening the arch. Thus the flexor brevis digitorum lies pretty nearly central in this region, while immediately under it the flexor longus digitorum, running from within outwards, is crossed in the opposite oblique direction by the flexor longus pollicis, and these again are still further checked outwards by the flexor accesso rius, so that the centre of action of all these mus cles and of the lumbricales also, which arise from the long flexor tendon, is in the same line as the flexor brevis, which lies over them, and as a support to the great arch of the foot this arrange ment of the muscular chords must have a pecu liarly advantageous effect.