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Tarsus

Etymology:

Gr. tarsós: “the flat of the foot; the edge of the eyelid and its lashes”, also Gr. tarsós: "a frame of wickerwork, crate, flat basket, for drying cheese on"

Definition:

1) A group of small bones in the flat of the foot (perhaps appearing as a intertwined lattice of a basket). The seven bones of the human tarsus form the ankle and upper part of the foot including: talus, calcaneus, navicular bone, cuboid bone, lateral cuneiform bone, intermediate cuneiform bone, medial cuneiform bone. 


2) A plate of dense connective tissue found in each eyelid, attached to either the superior tarsal muscle (in the upper eyelid) or inferior tarsal muscle (lower eyelid), which aid with sympathetic control.

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