Other Nails

In anatomy, a nail is a horn-like piece at the end of an animal finger or toe. See also claw. more...

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Parts of the fingernail

Fingernails and toenails, which are made of a tough protein called keratin and are a form of modified hair, are composed of:

The Free Edge is the part of the nail the extends past the finger, beyond the nail plate, it doesn't hurt to cut it because there are no nerve endings.; the nail matrix or the root of the nail - this is the growing part of the nail still under the skin at the nail's proximal end.; eponychium or cuticle which is the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail.; paronychium which is the fold of skin on the sides of the nail.; hyponychium which is the attachment between the skin of the finger or toe and the distal end of the nail.; nail plate which is what we think of when we say nail, the hard and translucent portion, composed of keratin.; nail bed which is the adherent connective tissue that underlies the nail.; lunula which is the crescent shaped whitish area of the nail bed.; nail fold a fold of hard skin overlapping the base and sides of a fingernail or toenail.;

Growth

Nails grow at an average rate of 0.1 mm/day (1 cm every 100 days) . Fingernails require 4 to 6 months to regrow completely. Toenails require 12 to 18 months. Actual growth rate is dependent upon age, season, exercise level, and hereditary factors.

This growth record can show the history of recent health and physiological imbalances, and has been used as a diagnostic tool since ancient times. Major illness will cause a deep horizontal groove to form in the nails. Miscoloration, thinning, thickening, brittleness, splitting, grooves, Mee's lines, small white spots, receded lunula, clubbing (convex), flatness, spooning(concave) can indicate illness in other areas of the body, nutrient deficiencies, drug reaction or poisoning, or merely local injury. Nails can also become thickened (onychogryphosis), loosened (onycholysis), infected with fungus (onychomycosis) or degenerative (onychodystrophy); for further information see nail diseases.

Health and Care

Nails can dry out, just like skin. They can also be infected: toe infections, for instance, can come from dirty socks, certain types of aggressive exercise as well as walking unprotected in an unclean environment.

Manicures and pedicures are health and cosmetic procedures to groom, trim, and paint the nails and manage callouses. They require various tools such as cuticle scissors, nail scissors, nail clippers, and nail files.

Read more at Wikipedia.org