Abstract
By the application of factor analysis to the foot data of 332 children of 3 to 6 years old for explication of the principal factors of the fore part of foot, the author discussed the differences of sex or age in each factor, the classification of toe types and the probability density of each type. The results were as follows:
1) The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th factors signify the ratio of each toe length to foot breadth, the ratio of each length of the 3rd, 4th and 5th toes to the 2nd toe, both the ratio of inside half foot breadth to outside half foot breadth and the 1st toe angle and the ratio of the 1st toe length to the 2nd toe, respectively.
2) Comparing the differences between the sexes, the ratio of each length of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th toes to foot breadth and the ratio of the 1st toe length to the 2nd toe are significantly higher in the females than in the males.
3) Comparing the differences between the 3.0-4.5 age and the 4.5-6.0 age groups, the ratio of each length of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th toes to foot breadth and the variation of the 1st toe angle are significantly higher in the 4.5-6.0 age group than in the 3.0-4.5 age group but the ratio of the 1st toe length to the 2nd toe is significantly lower in the 4.5-6.0 age group than in the 3.0-4.5 age group just in the case of males.
4) Among the toe types classified by using the three factors, the type with medium scores in all the factors shows 31.8% as the highest probability density.
