Principles of Dermatological Diagnosis - Dermatology

Nails
Nails function to grasp small objects and protect the
fingertip from trauma
The nail plate is composed of keratin produced by
special cells and surrounded by specially evolved skin
The whole complex is called a nail unit
Nails grow ~0.1 mm per day (~3 mm per month)
It takes 4-5 4 5 months to regrow
a fingernail, however
toenails grow slower requiring up to 12-18mo 12 18mo to
regrow
the hallux, hallux,
or bigtoe, bigtoe,
nail
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