Meaning & use
tarsometatarsal
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Relating to the joints or area between the tarsal bones in the middle of the foot and the long metatarsal bones leading to the toes.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: a tarsometatarsal injury.
The doctor suspected a tarsometatarsal injury after the fall.
A tarsometatarsal joint sprain can make walking painful.
The surgeon repaired the tarsometatarsal ligaments with small screws.
adjectivebefore a nounbiologyspecialist
Relating to the single long lower leg bone of a bird that is formed by joined foot bones.
Grammar: Used in bird anatomy before a noun: the tarsometatarsal bone.
The tarsometatarsal bone of the heron is long and slender.
Scientists measured the tarsometatarsal length to estimate the bird's size.
A fossil tarsometatarsal fragment helped identify the species.
Common combinations
- tarsometatarsal joint
- The tarsometatarsal joint connects the midfoot to the forefoot.
- tarsometatarsal injury
- A tarsometatarsal injury is easy to miss on an early scan.
- tarsometatarsal fusion
- He needed a tarsometatarsal fusion to stabilize his foot.
- tarsometatarsal bone
- The tarsometatarsal bone supports the bird's weight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Lisfranc
- Lisfranc is the common clinical name for the same joint complex and is what many doctors say aloud, while tarsometatarsal is the formal anatomical term.
- midfoot
- Midfoot is a plain, general word for the middle part of the foot, and is not as exact as tarsometatarsal.
Word family
Commonly confused: tarsometatarsal or tarsal? tarsometatarsal or carpometacarpal?
tarsometatarsal vs tarsal
Tarsal refers only to the tarsus bones in the ankle and rear foot, but tarsometatarsal names the link between those bones and the metatarsals.
tarsometatarsal vs carpometacarpal
Carpometacarpal is the matching term for the wrist and hand, not the foot.
Practice
The doctor said the injury was in the ______ joint, where the midfoot bones meet the long bones leading to the toes.
Choose one answer.
Tarsometatarsal names the joint between the tarsal and metatarsal bones of the foot. Carpometacarpal is the equivalent in the hand, so it is a tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tarsometatarsal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.