Nail Anatomy
What do you need to know about your nail anatomy. Your nails are important to you and as a Nail Technician's career to provide a safe and quality service. Nail Technician have an in-depth understanding of nails anatomy, including nail plate, matric, cuticle, eponychium, hyponychium, nail walls, lunula, free edge and nail bed.
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Nail Anatomy
1. Edge of Nail: the part of the nail that extends past the fingertip or toe and is not attached to the nail bed or skin.
2. Nail Plate: the hard, visible part of the nail that's made of keratin and minerals.
3. Lateral Nail Fold: the sidewall, is the skin that folds over the sides of the nail plate.
4. Lunula: the white, half-moon-shaped area at the base of your fingernail that's part of the nail matrix.
5. Cuticle: is a thin layer of dead skin that surrounds the base of the fingernails and toenails.
6. Proximal Nail Fold: the skin that surrounds the base of the nail, from the nail plate's edge to the first joint of the finger or toe.
7. Nail Root: the part of the nail that's located at the base of the nail, underneath the skin, and is responsible for producing the cells that make up the nail.
8. Nail Matrix: the area at the base of the nail where new cells are created to form the nail.
9. Nail Bed: is the skin beneath the nail plate.
Nail Disorders
1. Absent Part: Anonychia congenita
2. Nail Pitting: Psoriasis
3. Cuticle Invasion: Lichen planus
4. Pigmentation & Ridging: Monilla
5. Distal Onycholysis: Tinea
6. Spoon Nails: Iron deficiency Anemia
7. Discolored & Inverted Edges: Ectodermal Dysplasia
8. Clubbing: Hypoxia, Malignancy or Toxins
9. Bitten Nails (Short): Anxiety
10. Splinter Hemorrhage: Small blood vessels called capillaries under the skin beneath your nail (nail bed) burst due to damage.
11. Yellow: Bronchiectasis, Lymphoma & Edema
12. Half & Half: Hepatic Necrosis
13. Ridging: Rheumatoid arthritis
14. Longitudinal Brown Lines: Addison's, Breast Caner & Melanoma
15. White Nails: Anemia
16. Red Nails: SLE, Polycythemia
17. Horizontal White & Pink Bands: Nephrotic Syndrome
18. Brittle Nails: Hypothyroidism
19. Pincer Nail: a condition characterized by excessive transverse nail curvature, progressively pinching the nail bed distally.
20. Onychogryphosis: a nail disorder that causes a toenail or fingernail to grow abnormally, often resulting in a nail that looks like a ram's horn.
21. Nail Pterygium: a disorder that occurs by an overgrowth of the proximal nail fold on to the nail bed.
22. Hang Nail: a small, torn piece of skin next to a fingernail or toenail, related to ingrown nails, or even a small, torn piece of nail separated from the main nail.
23. Koilonychia: a nail condition that causes nails to become abnormally thin, concave, and brittle, and sometimes appear spoon-shaped.
Nail Shapes
1. Natural
2. Oval
3. Coffin
4. Wide/ Duck/ Flare
5. Square
6. Stiletto
7. Cut Out
8. Trapeze
9. Edge
10. Lipstick
11. Ballerina
12. Pointed
13. Mountain Peak
14. Round Lipstick