Abnormal attachments between a plantar aponeurosis and calcaneus

The plantar aponeurosis or fascia is a thick fascial seal located on the lower surface of the sole. It consists of three parts central, lateral, and medial. The central portion is the thickest. It is narrow behind and wider in front. The central portion has two strong vertical intermuscular septa which are directed upward into the foot. The lateral and medial portions are thinner. The medial portion is thinnest. The lateral portion is thin in front and thick behind. The main function of the plantar fascia is to support the longitudinal arch of the foot. In May 2013 during a routine dissection in the section hall of the Department of Anatomy and Histology in Medical University - Sofia, Bulgaria we came across a very interesting variation of the plantar aponeurosis.

For the present morphological study tissues from a human corpse material were used. This unusual anatomical variation was photographed using a Nikon Coolpix 995 camera with a 3.34 Megapixels.

We found some fibrous strands which started from the proximal portion of the plantar aponeurosis on the left foot. The fibrous strands resembled the tentacles of an octopus and started from the proximal portion of the aponeurosis. Two of fibrous strands were directed laterally to adipose tissue and one was directed medially and backward. The first lateral fibrous strand was divided into several fascicles. We found very few data in literature about the varieties of the plantar fascia.

It is very important to consider the occurrence of above mentioned variations in the plantar aponeurosis when surgical procedures are performed on the sole.