Les os sésamoïdes de l’hallux: du mythe à la fonction

The sesamoid bones of the hallux have played a mystic and religious role in many ancient civilizations. The anatomists of the Middle Ages first described them and underlined their functional importance. Recent anatomical studies have focused on the role of the sesamoid bones in the articular motion of the metatar-sophalangeal joint of the forefoot first ray. Through a literature review, we classified all the sesamoid bones. We distinguished the accessory sesamoid bones (type 1), the capsuloligamentar sesamoid bones (type 2), the intratendineous sesamoid bones (type 3), and the patellar sesamoid bones (type 4). We also specified the anatomy of the hallucal sesamoids and their functional unit with the first metatarsal head and the proximal phalangeal basis in the metatarsosesamoidophalangeal complex (MSP complex).