Fingernails redirects here. For the album, see Fingernails .
In anatomy, a nail is a horn-like structure at the end of a human's or an animal's finger or toe. See also claw.
Parts of the nail
Anatomically fingernails and toenails, which are made of a tough protein called keratin and are produced from living skin cells in the fingers and toes, are made up of many different parts:
The free edge is the part of the nail that extends past the finger, beyond the nail plate. There are no nerve endings in the nail - this is the growing part of the nail still under the skin at the nail's proximal end.
eponychium or cuticle, is the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail.
paronychium is the fold of skin on the sides of the nail.
hyponychium is the attachment between the skin of the finger or toe and the distal end of the nail.
nail plate is the hard and translucent portion, composed of keratin.
nail bed is the adherent connective tissue that underlies the nail, often colloquiall