Again, the tendons of the long flexor of the toes, and of the long
flexor of the great toe, when they reach the sole of the foot, do not
remain distinct from one another, as the flexors in the palm of the
hand do, but they become united and commingled in a very curious
manner--while their united tendons receive an accessory muscle
connected with the heel-bone.
But perhaps the most absolutely distinctive character about the muscles
of the foot is the existence of what is termed the 'peronaeus longus',
a long muscle fixed to the outer bone of the leg, and sending its
tendon to the outer ankle, behind and below which it passes, and then
crosses the foot obliquely to be attached to the base of the great toe.
No muscle in the hand exactly corresponds with this, which is eminently
a foot muscle.
To resume--the foot of man is distinguished from his hand by the
following absolute anatomical differences:--
1. By the arrangement of the tarsal bones.
2. By having a short flexor and a short extensor muscle of the digits.
3. By possessing the muscle termed 'peronaeus longus'.
And if we desire to ascertain whether the terminal division of a limb,
in other Primates, is to be called a foot or a hand, it is by the
presence or absence of these characters that we must be guided, and not
by the mere proportions and greater or lesser mobility of the great toe,
which may vary indefinitely without any fundamental alteration in the
structure of the foot.
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