The Nail (anatomy) reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Nail (anatomy)

This article discusses the anatomical nail. For other uses of the term, see nail.

In anatomy, a nail is a horn-like piece at the end of a human or animal finger or toe. See also claw and hoof.

Fingernails and toenails are composed of

• the nail matrix or the root of the nail - this is the growing part of the nail still under the skin at the nail's proximal end.
• eponychium of cuticle which is the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail.
• paronychium which is the fold of skin on the sides of the nail.
• hyponychium which is the attachment between the skin of the finger or toe and the distal end of the nail.
• nail plate which is what we think of when we say nail, it is the hard and translucent portion, composed of dead keratin.
• nail bed which is the adherent connective tissue that underlies the nail.
• lunula which is the crescent shaped whitish area of the nail bed.

Fingernails require 3 to 6 months to completely regrow. Toenails require 12 to 18 months. Any major illness will cause a groove to form in the nails, marking in time the past medical history of its owner. These are called Beau's lines.

Nails can become thickened (onychogryphosis), loosened (onycholysis), infected with fungus (onychomycosis) or degenerative (onychodystrophy); for further information see nail diseases

A manicure or pedicure is a health and cosmetic procedure to groom, trim and paint the nails. It is accomplished with cuticle scissors, nail scissors, nail clippers, and nail files. To paint the nails, nail lacquer is manually applied and dried. A large variety of designs is styles can be seen among the fashion-conscious women. In 2003 the first ink nail printer NailJet Pro was released that can print custom hi-resolution colour images on nails [1].

In late 20th century artificial nails became widely popular. The artificial nails are not a replacement, but an extension for natural nails. There are two main approaches to creating artificial nails - tips and forms. Tips are lightweight plates that are glued on the natural nail. Forms are fit over the nail and then an artificial nail is molded and the form is removed. With both approaches several materials can be used to glue the tips of form artificial nails. One popular material is acryl - a mixture of powder and ethymethacrylate that hardens in 30-40 seconds after application. Acryl can be removed in 20 minutes using a variety of solvents. Another material, gel, hardens under ultraviolet light and is more lasting and more expensive. It can only be removed by cutting it off. Other materials can be used, as well as combinations of them. There are also cheaper flexible tips that can be quickly glued at home without help from a professional. Artificial nails are produced in a variety of colours and can use "special effects" such as contours, sparkles, etc.

The whole area of the nail is connected to the finger. Because of that removal of a nail can be painful. Sometimes this has to be done for medical reasons (for example, if the nail becomes infected or mechanically damaged; this is usually done under anesthesia.

Because the procedure is extremely painful, its variations were widely used for torture in the past and are still used occasionally. One variation is pulling the nail off completely with some kind of pliers. It was usually administered together with other methods of torture. Another variation is inserting sharp objects under the nails, including needles and nails. If sterile and sufficiently small tools are used, this method will not leave any permanent damage, while still causing excruciating pain.

Integumentary system

Skin - Hair - Nailss

This is the "Nail (anatomy)" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.