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The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Hind limb

Tarsal bones ossa tarsi

The tarsal bones are the seven bones of the hock, between the lower leg and the metatarsus. The largest, the calcaneus, extends upward and backward and forms the point of the hock.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Skeleton Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Tarsal bones
  2. Tibia
  3. Fibula
  4. Metatarsus
Tarsal bones on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

Between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsus; they form the hock.

System
Hind limb
Region
Hind limb

What it is and what it does

The tarsus has seven bones. The largest, the calcaneus, extends upward and backward and forms the point of the hock; the common calcaneal tendon (the “Achilles tendon”) attaches to it. Next to it lies the talus, which articulates with the tibia. The tarsal joint is the counterpart of the human ankle.

One online source places the calcaneus in the “first row of the metatarsals”; correctly, the calcaneus belongs to the upper row of the tarsal bones.

Worth remembering

The calcaneal tendon, also called the Achilles tendon, attaches to the calcaneus.

Names

  • Also called: tarsus, hock bones.
  • Latin term: ossa tarsi.
  • In Romanian: Oasele tarsiene (Romanian page).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Hind limb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton