The painful os intermetatarseum: a brief review and case reports.

The os intermetatarseum is a relatively uncommon bony anomaly of the foot. It is usually found between the bases of the first and second metatarsal bones and ossifies during adolescence or preadolescence. It can be demonstrated on routine X-ray films of the foot. In three patients presented, the abnormality caused pain. The pain was relieved in two patients treated by excision of the "bony spur." The presence of an os intermetatarseum should be considered in the differential diagnosis of dorsal midfoot pain.