Nails Care and Nails Disorders

The nail is a vestigial organ whose main function is to provide strength and protection to the tips of the fingers and toes.

The nail consists of the following four components:

Nail-plate, which consists of a translucent sheet of keratin fibres arranged in parallel rows.

Nail-bed is that portion of the skin which lies under the nail-plate and is attached to the under-surface of the nail-plate.

Paronychia fold is the fold of the skin which lies along and covers the proximal end and the sides of the nail-plate.

Nail-matrix is a mass of cells lying under the proximal nail-fold and the proximal part of the nail-plate; it is responsible for producing the nail-plate. The portion of the nail-matrix which lies under the proximal part of the nail-plate is visible through the nail-plate as a half-moon-shaped area of a lighter color. This part is called the 'lunula'.

The nail-plate is produced at the nail-matrix and slides forward towards the distal end. The rate of growth of the nail-plate is such that in a normal individual the entire nail-plate at the finger is replaced in approximately three months and the toe-nail in six months. The growth in the nails of the fifth toe is the slowest. The pink color of the normal nail is due to the blood flow in the nail-bed which is visible through the translucent nail-plate. If the nail-plate becomes opaque, the pink color of the nail-bed gets masked and the nail looks white.

In most cases the opacity of the nail-plate is confined to small punctate areas only. This is called leuconychia (white nail) punctata (spotty). Such spots are produced by an irregularity in the alignment of the keratin fibres constituting the nail-plate. This however, does not indicate any disease in the individual. It is generally caused by a mild injury to the nail when it is being formed. As the nail continues to grow at its proximal end, the spot progessively moves distally till it reaches the distal end of the nail-plate and is cut off. More spots can appear if the trauma is repeated. Very occasionally, such spots are caused by an infection with a fungus.

Sometimes a large proportion of the nail-plate becomes uniformly opaque and looks white. This change is frequently associated with an internal disease, especially the renal disease and requires appropriate investigations and treatment.

Nails Care

Anychia
Clawing of the Nails
Clubbing
Discoloration of the Nail Plate
Ingrowing Toe Nail
Koilonychia
Longitudinal Striations
Loss of Nail Plate
Onycholysis
Paronychia
Pitting of Nail Plates
Pterygium
Thickening of Nail Plate
Transverse Ridges

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