Definition of "tarsus" [tar•sus]

• The section of the vertebrate foot between the leg and the metatarsus. (noun)
• The bones making up this section, especially the seven small bones of the human ankle. (noun)
• A fibrous plate that supports and shapes the edge of the eyelid. Also called tarsal plate. (noun)
• Zoology The tarsometatarsus. (noun)
• Zoology The distal part of the leg of an arthropod, usually divided into segments. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The tarsus is a true hinge joint and because of the great strain which it sustains, is subject to frequent injury."
• "The long bone referred to -- called the tarsus -- corresponds to the instep of the human foot, that is, the foot proper, while the joint which extends backward, forming an angle with the next large bone, is really the bird's heel."
• "At its lower end the tibia forms what is known as the ankle joint by articulating with the next long bone, which is commonly called the tarsus, although the proper name would be really metatarsus."