of the fifth metatarsal march fracture – a fracture of the distal third of one of the metatarsals occurring because of recurrent stress calcaneal fracture broken toe – a fracture of a phalanx cuneiform fracture – due to the ligamentous support of the midfoot, isolated cuneiform fractures are rare. pronation main article: pronation of the foot in anatomy, pronation is a rotational movement of the forearm (at the radioulnar joint) or foot (at the subtalar and talocalcaneonavicular joints). pronation of the foot refers to how the body distributes weight as it cycles through the gait. during the gait cycle the foot can pronate in many different ways based on rearfoot and forefoot function. types of pronation include neutral pronation, underpronation (supination), and overpronation. neutral pronation an individual who neutrally pronates initially strikes the ground on the lateral side of the heel. as the individual transfers weight from the heel to the metatarsus, the foot will roll in a medial direction, such that the weight is distributed evenly across the metatarsus. in this stage of the gait, the knee will generally, but not always, track directly over the hallux. this rolling inward motion as the foot progresses from heel to toe is the way that the body naturally absorbs shock. neutral pronation is the most ideal, efficient type of gait when using a heel strike gait; in a forefoot strike, the body absorbs shock instead via flexion of the foot. overpronation as with a neutral pronator, an individual who overpronates initially strikes the ground on the lateral side of the heel. as the individual transfers weight from the heel to the metatarsus, however, the foot will roll too far in a medial direction, such that the weight is distributed unevenly across the metatarsus, with excessive weight borne on the hallux. in this stage of the gait, the knee will generally, but not always, track inward. an overpronator does not absorb shock efficiently. imagine someone jumping onto a diving board, but the board is so flimsy that when it is struck, it bends and allows the person to plunge straight down into the water instead of back into the air. similarly, an overpronator's arches will collapse, or the ankles will roll inward (or a combination of the two) as they cycle through the gait. an individual whose bone structure involves external rotation at the hip, knee, or ankle will be more likely to overpronate than one whose bone structure has internal rotation or central alignment. an individual who overpronates tends to wear down their running shoes on the medial (inside) side of the shoe toward the toe area. when choosing a running or walking shoe, a person with overpronation can choose shoes that have good inside support—usually by strong material at the inside sole and arch of the shoe. it is usually visible. the inside support area is marked by strong greyish material to support the weight when a person lands on the outside foot and then roll onto the inside foot. underpronation (supination) underpronation of foot an individual who underpronates also initially strikes the ground on the lateral side of the heel. as the individual transfers weight from the heel to the metatarsus, the foot will not roll far enough in a medial direction. the weight is distributed unevenly across the metatarsus, with excessive weight borne on the fifth metatarsal, toward the lateral side of the foot. in this stage of the gait, the knee will generally, but not always, track laterally of the hallux. like an overpronator, an underpronator does not absorb shock efficiently – but for the opposite reason. the underpronated foot is like a diving board that, instead of failing to spring someone in the air because it is too flimsy, fails to do so because it is too rigid. there is virtually no give. an underpronator's arches or ankles don't experience much motion as they cycle through the gait. an individual whose bone structure involves internal rotation at the hip, knee, or ankle will be more likely to underpronate than one whose bone structure has external rotation or central alignment. usually – but not always – those who are bow-legged tend to underpronate. an individual who underpronates tends to wear down their running shoes on the lateral (outside) side of the shoe toward the rear of the shoe in the heel area. society and culture humans usually wear shoes or similar footwear for protection from hazards when walking outside. there are a number of contexts where it is considered inappropriate to wear shoes. some people consider it rude to wear shoes into a house and a māori marae should only be entered with bare feet. foot fetishism is the most common sexual fetish. other animals a paw is the soft foot of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws or nails (e.g., a cat or dog's paw). a hard foot is called a hoof. depending on style of locomotion, animals can be classified as plantigrade (sole walking), digitigrade (toe walking), or unguligrade (nail walking). the metatarsals are the bones that make up the main part of the foot in humans, and part of the leg in large animals or paw in smaller animals. the number of metatarsals are directly related to the mode of locomotion with many larger animals having their digits reduced to two (elk, cow, sheep) or one (horse). the metatarsal bones of feet and paws are tightly grouped compared to, most notably, the human hand where the thumb metacarpal diverges from the rest of the metacarpus. metaphorical and cultural usage study of a pair of feet crossed, 1847, by margaret louisa herschel, daughter of john herschel, from the royal museums greenwich the word "foot" is used to refer to a "...linear measure was in old english (the exact length has varied over time), this being considered the length of a man's foot; a unit of measure used widely and anciently. in this sense the plural is often foot. the current inch and foot are implied from measurements in 12c." the word "foot" also has a musical meaning; a "...metrical foot (late old english, translating latin pes, greek pous in the same sense) is commonly taken to represent one rise and one fall of a foot: keeping time according to some, dancing according to others." the word "foot" was used in middle english to mean "a person" (c. 1200). the expression "...to put one's best foot foremost first recorded 1849 (shakespeare has the better foot before, 1596)". the expression to "...put one's foot in (one's) mouth "say something stupid" was first used in 1942. the expression "put (one's) foot in something" meaning to "make a mess of it" was used in 1823. the word "footloose" was first used in the 1690s, meaning "free to move the feet, unshackled"; the more "figurative sense of "free to act as one pleases" was first used in 1873. like "footloose", "flat-footed" at first had its obvious literal meaning (in 1600, it meant "with flat feet") but by 1912 it meant "unprepared" (u.s. baseball slang).