Note 11 — SECTION II CONTRACTIONS OF THE TOES

It is unnecessary to enter minutely into the conformation of the inter-phalangeal joints, but it must be understood that the proximal attachment of the plantar fibres of the lateral ligaments lies at a point below the centre of the dorsal half of the condylar curve, and hence these fibres become more and more stretched as their distal attachment is carried upwards in the direction of extension, until at last the motion is checked by their tension. The point at which the arrest occurs necessarily depends upon the relation existing between the length of the fibres and that of the radii of the condylar curve. If the ligaments of a joint be artificially elongated by acrobatic training in early life, they may lose their power of fixing the range of movement, and extension may then go on until it is stopped by contact of bones or by contraction of opposing muscles. The latter factor, of course, is always an important one, but it does not affect the present aspect of the question.