Nail Disorders and Diseases

Question 1

Beau’s Lines

Answer 1

Depressions running across the nail plate’s width due to a slowing production of matrix cells, which causes the nail plate to grow thinner; usually the result of serious illness or injury

Question 2

Discolored nail

Answer 2

Nails turn a variety of colors; may indicate surface staining, a systemic disorder, or poor blood circulation

Question 3

Eggshell nail

Answer 3

Noticeably thin white nail plate is more flexible than usual; usually caused by diet, heredity, internal disease, medication, or overfiling with an abrasive; use caution when manicuring these fragile nails and minimize or avoid filing

Question 4

Leukonychia

Answer 4

Whitish discolored spots on the nails, usually caused by minor injury to the nail matrix; often appear in the nails but do not indicate disease and disappear as the nail grows

Question 5

Melanonychia

Answer 5

Significant nail darkening caused by increased pigment cells (melanocytes), visible as a black band extending from the base to the free edge, or as a dark color over the entire nail plate

Question 6

Nail pterygium

Answer 6

irregular stretching of the eponychium or hyponychium around the nail plate; usually from serious injury of an allergic skin reaction

Question 7

Onychophagy

Answer 7

Bitten nails; frequent manicures and proper hand care can help overcome this habit

Question 8

Onychorrhexis

Answer 8

Irregular split or brittle nails appearing as nail plate surface roughness; potentially caused by heredity, matrix injury, excessive exposure to cuticle removers, harsh cleaning agents, or aggressive filing techniques

Question 9

Pincer nail

Answer 9

also known as trumpet nail; a form of dramatically increased nail curvature of the free edge, whereby the nail can curl in upon itself or may be deformed only on one sidewall

Question 10

Plicatured nail

Answer 10

also known as folded nail; a type of highly curved nail plate usually caused by injury to the matrix, but may be inheritedPlicatured nail

Question 11

Ridged nail

Answer 11

Lengthwise grooves in the plate, often mistaken for ridges; usually the result of aging

Question 12

Splinter hemorrhage

Answer 12

Damage to the capillaries under the nail, giving the appearance of a lengthwise small splinter underneath the nail plate; caused by physical trauma or nail bed injury

Question 13

onychosis

Answer 13

any deformity or disease of the natural nails

Question 14

Nail melanoma

Answer 14

a rare and serious type of skin cancer that begins in the nail matrix. It is more prevalent in the thumbs and big toes and usually affects one nail at a time.

Question 15

Onychia

Answer 15

Matrix inflammation and nail shedding caused by infection or injury; possible medical referral required

Question 16

Onychocryptosis

Answer 16

Ingrown nail, wherein the nail grows into the sides of the tissue around the nail; medical referral required

Question 17

Onycholysis

Answer 17

Separation of the nail plate and bed, often due to injury or allergic reactions; when the cause is removed, the area slowly begins healing; medical referral required

Question 18

Onychomadesis

Answer 18

Separation and falling off of a nail plate from the nail bed; caused by infection, matrix injury, systemic illness, or medical procedure, such as chemotherapy;

Question 19

Onychomycosis

Answer 19

Nail plate fungal infection, consisting of whitish patches that can be scraped off the nail’s surface or long whitish or pale yellowish streaks within the nail plate; or a third common form causing the nail’s free edge, or as much as the entire plate, to crumble, often invading the free edge and spreading toward the matrix

Question 20

Paronychia

Answer 20

Bacterial inflammation of the tissues around the nail plate, causing pus, swelling, and redness

Question 21

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Answer 21

Rapidly growing and contagious bacteria that can cause infection; seen in the early stages as a yellow–green spot that becomes darker in its advanced stage, changing from yellow to green to brown to black

Question 22

Pyogenic granuloma

Answer 22

Severe nail inflammation, in which a lump of red tissue grows up from the nail bed to the nail plate; medical referral required

Question 23

Tinea pedis

Answer 23

Medical term for fungal infections of the feet, also known as athlete’s foot; seen as red patches or scaling of the skin on the bottom of feet and/or between the toes