Malleolus

Malleolus
Coronal cross-section through the right ankle showing the lateral malleolus (right) and medial malleolus (left)
The left leg, with the medial malleolus labeled at bottom right.
Details
Identifiers
Latinmalleolus
TA98A02.5.07.014
TA21442
FMA35502
Anatomical terms of bone

A malleolus is the bony prominence on each side of the human ankle.

Each leg is supported by two bones, the tibia on the inner side (medial) of the leg and the fibula on the outer side (lateral) of the leg. The medial malleolus is the prominence on the inner side of the ankle, formed by the lower end of the tibia. The lateral malleolus is the prominence on the outer side of the ankle, formed by the lower end of the fibula.

The word malleolus (/məˈlələs, mæ-/[1][2]), plural malleoli (/məˈləˌl, mæ-/), comes from Latin and means "small hammer". (It is cognate with mallet.)

  1. ^ "Malleolus". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  2. ^ "Malleolus". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.