Review Question - QID 218539

A 45-year-old male presents with right foot pain that has progressively worsened since he fell down a flight of stairs. At the time of injury, he remembers having a large bruise on the plantar surface of his foot, but was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. His foot has never felt the same since the injury. He now has large prominence over the dorsal aspect of his midfoot. Radiographs reveal midfoot arthritis with a large dorsal osteophyte. A decision is made to perform an arthrodesis, which will include iliac crest autograft for the procedure. What is the purpose for the use of this graft?