This paper provides a brief overview of some important functional anatomy terms and concepts from a medical perspective. The scope of this paper is not to serve as a comprehensive review of all the factors that are important in footwear design but to introduce functional anatomical and biomechanical terms and concepts along with a brief discussion of the most common foot conditions and their relevance to the health implications of footwear. This paper is considered a companion paper to IEEE SA 3D Body Processing Industry Connections Comprehensive Review of Foot Measurements Terminology in Use paper. Footwear has been customized to address pain and pathology since shoes were first worn. Medical professionals (and some bespoke footwear manufacturers) currently provide this service for those with foot pathology but the emerging technologies will enable more access to custom footwear on a dramatically larger scale. Many early adopters of mass customized footwear will likely have foot conditions that have not been satisfactorily addressed with off?the?shelf shoes. Footwear manufacturers and retailers cannot be expected to diagnose and treat medical conditions but nevertheless, those providing custom footwear will need a basic understanding of some anatomical and biomechanical concepts. To follow are sections on terminology, functional anatomy, biomechanics, and common conditions of the feet. The terms and concepts discussed in this paper can be found in most medical textbooks on anatomy and the musculoskeletal system. The references used for this overview are listed at the end of the paper and numbered as [1], [2], [3], [4], [5].
