Foot Muscle Anatomy Quiz – Sole Layers and Top of the Foot

All 14 muscles on the diagram

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First layer of the sole 3

Abductor hallucis Abducts the big toe. It runs from the calcaneus to the base of the big toe.
Flexor digitorum brevis Flexes the four smaller toes. It lies in the middle of the sole.
Abductor digiti minimi Abducts the little toe. It runs along the outer border of the foot.

Second layer 3

Quadratus plantae Helps the long flexor tendon bend the four smaller toes.
Tendon of flexor digitorum longus The long toe-flexor tendon from the leg. Quadratus plantae and the lumbricals attach to it.
Lumbricals Four slim muscles that arise from the long flexor tendons.

Third and fourth layers 5

Flexor hallucis brevis Flexes the big toe at its base. Its two parts end on either side of that base.
Oblique head of adductor hallucis Arises from the bases of metatarsals two to four.
Transverse head of adductor hallucis A narrow band from the ligaments behind the outer toes.
Flexor digiti minimi brevis Flexes the little toe at its base.
Plantar interossei Three muscles that adduct the third, fourth and fifth toes.

Top of the foot 3

Extensor digitorum brevis Helps extend the second, third and fourth toes.
Extensor hallucis brevis Extends the big toe at its base.
Dorsal interossei Four two-headed muscles between the metatarsals. They abduct the toes.

How this list was compiled: Every name and action checked on 2026-10-01 in both of these, in our own words. (1) Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th edition, 1918 (public domain), The Muscles and Fasciae of the Foot: the dorsal muscle, the plantar aponeurosis and the four plantar layers. (2) TeachMeAnatomy, Muscles of the Foot: dorsal aspect and the four layers of the plantar aspect. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This foot muscle anatomy quiz asks the intrinsic muscles, the ones that begin and end inside the foot. Four drawings of a right foot peel the sole back layer by layer, then show the top.

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The sole, layer by layer

The foot muscles quiz opens on the first layer, just under the plantar aponeurosis: abductor hallucis, flexor digitorum brevis and abductor digiti minimi. The second layer holds the quadratus plantae and the lumbricals on the long flexor tendon. The third holds the short flexors of the big and little toes and the adductor hallucis; the interossei make the fourth.

Which way up

In the three sole drawings the heel is on the left and the big toe at the bottom. The last drawing shows the top of the foot, with the big toe at the top and the two short extensors.

Hallucis means of the big toe; digiti minimi means of the smallest digit, here the little toe.
Plantar interossei adduct the toes and dorsal interossei abduct them.

Questions and answers

How many layers of muscle are in the sole of the foot?

Four. The first holds abductor hallucis, flexor digitorum brevis and abductor digiti minimi; the second quadratus plantae and the lumbricals; the third flexor hallucis brevis, adductor hallucis and flexor digiti minimi brevis; the fourth the interossei.

What are the intrinsic muscles of the foot?

Muscles that lie wholly inside the foot. Ten are in the sole, arranged in four layers, and two, extensor digitorum brevis and extensor hallucis brevis, are on the top of the foot.

Which muscles are on the top of the foot?

Extensor digitorum brevis and extensor hallucis brevis. Both arise from the calcaneus. Extensor hallucis brevis is often described as the innermost part of extensor digitorum brevis.

What does the quadratus plantae do?

It runs from the calcaneus to the tendons of flexor digitorum longus and helps that muscle flex the four smaller toes.