The Achilles tendon attaches the calf muscles to which bone?

The Achilles tendon attaches the calf muscles to the calcaneus, the heel bone.

This powerful tendon joins the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneal tuberosity at the back of the foot. When those muscles contract, the tendon pulls the heel upward and produces plantar flexion, the movement used to stand on tiptoe, walk, run, and jump.

The Achilles tendon is the thickest tendon in the human body, but it has a relatively limited blood supply. That helps explain why overuse injuries and tears can take time to heal. The narrowest part is typically a few centimetres above its attachment to the heel, a common location for injury.

The calcaneus is not the ankle bone itself; it lies below the talus and forms the foundation of the heel. The tendon’s name comes from the Greek hero Achilles, whose vulnerable heel became the source of the expression “Achilles’ heel.” In anatomical language, it is also called the calcaneal tendon.