A Study on the Development of the Foot Shape in Childhood (2) Relation between the bodily growth and the big-toe angle in childhood Hideko TAGUCHI* The author are of the opinion that, for the human two-footed upright walking, the bending (grasping) reflex movement of the sole must be developed. Considering the fact that the formation of the big-toe angle appears in the process of getting skilled in the bending (grasping) reflex movement, the author collected the sole replicas from 1,546

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... ildren, and observed them continuously; the author studied the relation of the said movement to the bodily growth and the big-toe angle and obtained the following results. 1) The formation of the big-toe angle is related to the bending (grasping) reflex movement of the big-toe and the second toe, and is accelerated by the development of the movement in the childhood up to the 4th grade in primary school (11 years of age). 2) The appearance of the big-toe angle is influenced by the height and weight of a child, but the relation was not so clear in the male. 3) The Rohrer's index is stable in the 3rd and the 4th grades in primary school both in the male and the female, and during the period the formation of the big-toe angle differs by sex. 4) Among the factors contributing to the formation of the big-toe angle, the body weight is the largest; the big-toe angle will appear when the body weight is beyond the weight-supporting capacity of the sole: that is, the increase of the weight-loading in the unit sole area (1 cm2) causes the formation of the big-toe angle. From the above results, it is pointed out that the big-toe angle closely relates to the increase of the body weight. In the female, the relation is especially clear and the formation of the angle increases the weight-loading capacity of the sole; in the male the foot is strengthened by the increase of the physical strength, and thus the relation is not so clear.