Nails Flashcards
What is the free edge?
The part of the nail that extends beyond the end of the finger and protects the tips of the fingers or toes
What is the nail plate/body?
the visible nail area from the nail root to the free edge. Made of layers. No nerves or blood vessels can be found here.
What is the nail wall?
The folds of skin on either side of the nail groove.
What is the lunula?
The half moon shape at the base of the nail, which appears white due to a reflection of light at the point where the nail matrix and nail bed meet.
What’s the eponychium?
The cuticle that overlaps the lunula at the base of the nail.
What’s the cuticle?
The loose and pliable overlapping skin around the nail.
What’s the nail matrix?
The active tissue that generates cells, which harden as they move outward from the root to the nail.
What’s the nail root?
The nail root is attached to the matrix at the base of the nail, under the skin and inside the mantle.
What’s the mantle?
The pocket-like structure that holds the root and matrix
What’s the nail bed?
The area of the nail on which the nail body rests. Nerves and blood vessels found here supply nourishment. Ligaments attach the nail bed to the bone.
What are the nail grooves?
The tracks on either side of the nail that the nail moves on as it grows.
What’s the perionychium?
The skin that touches, overlaps, and surrounds the nail.
What’s the hyponychium?
The skin underneath the free edge.
What is a nail made out of?
Keratin (hardened) protein.
How does a nail grow?
The matrix creates cells that are pushed outwards from the nail root. The cells harden as they continue towards the nail plate and are fully hardened when the reach the eponychium. The hardened cells form the nail plate that curves on the sides and follows the nail grooves.
