Fingernails

The Fingernails are small plates on the tips of your fingers or toes. They are made of keratin and have different functions. Illnesses or abnormalities of the fingernails can possibly provide information about certain diseases of the associated body.

What are fingernails?

As Fingernails the arched plates on the tip of the fingers or toes of primates (and thus also of humans) are called. They are located on the top of the tip of the finger or foot and are slightly translucent.

Composed of keratin, a water-insoluble horn substance, fingernails fulfill several functions in everyday life. They grow incessantly in the course of life and so have to be cut regularly. In many cultures they are particularly cared for or designed or decorated in order to express prosperity, for example.

Fingernails can have various diseases or abnormalities, which often point to an existing underlying disease of the person concerned. It is therefore not only worthwhile for the treating physician to take a look at the fingernails and their properties.

Anatomy & structure

Both Fingernails The primates are horn plates on the upper tip of the fingers or toes, which have formed from the epidermis (upper skin). They consist of up to 150 layers of horny cells and are approximately 0.75 mm thick in adults.

On average, they grow between 0.5 and 1.2 mm per week. The rate of growth decreases with age. At the end of each fingernail is the nail pocket. The nail bed, which consists of connective tissue, lies under the nail itself. On the sides, the fingernail is surrounded by a so-called nail wall, also called a nail fold, which also covers the non-visible parts of it.

This skin layer gives the nail hold and at the same time offers protection against tears. The fingernail itself has no sensory or nerve cells.

Function & tasks

Fingernails perform different tasks in primates. On the one hand, they serve for protection and can be used as a weapon, for example to defend against attackers. In humans, of course, this purpose is used comparatively rarely.

Here the fingernails play a more decisive role in the gripping function, because they support the so-called fingertips. These are tactile pads on the inside of each fingertip. These are very well supplied with blood and have a large number of nerve cells. Much of the touching takes place over this important area of ​​the finger. The fingernails are now on the one hand a kind of abutment for the fingertips.

On the other hand, they are very sensitive in the area of ​​the fingertip skin under the actual nail, because there is a sensory cell border there. Touching an object with a fingernail provides information about the hardness and nature of the same. Last but not least, the fingernails are also used for numerous everyday tasks and movements.

They can be used for plucking, tearing or scratching and are therefore suitable, for example, for opening packaging or removing adhesive labels.

Illnesses, ailments & disorders

The most common injuries to the Fingernails occur through trauma caused by injuries or accidents. If the nail bed is affected, the damage usually remains visible forever.

If an injury cannot heal and / or if the nail root is permanently damaged, the nail will fall out and no longer grow back. If the fingernails show damage or abnormalities that are not related to trauma, this could be, for example, nail fungus or a vitamin H deficiency. Then it comes to brittle and splintering nails. Psoriasis can also affect the nail and lead to spots.

Spots can also appear after taking certain medications for a long time. A hangnail, a stuck piece of skin on the side of the nail, is harmless, but can cause painful inflammation if it is not removed. Frequent use of aggressive nail polish removers can damage the fingernails. If changes in the nails occur for which no cause is known, it is advisable to consult a doctor and have this clarified.