Why Do People Have Fingernails

Posted in: General info by weddingcometrue | February 8th 2010 | no comments

We all have fingernails, we all know that we have to take care of them (some do this only for their aesthetics), but how many of us have ever considered why do we have them? A quick answer might be that we have fingernails to protect the nail bed, but this answer is very easy to contradict, because if we would not have fingernails, the nail bed wouldn't be so sensitive, it wouldn't even exist. Therefore we have to find another reason to answer the question why do people have fingernails?

Let's start at the beginning: a fingernail is a horn-like envelope that covers the dorsal part of our fingers. Some primates also have fingernails and although not only primates have fingernails, very few mammals have them. It's easy to realize that our fingernails are very similar to animals' claws.

The fingernails (and toenails as well) are made of a protein called keratin.

Before we can answer the question 'Why do people have fingernails?' probably we should take a look at the parts and components of it. In this article I am writing about only the major parts of the fingernail.



I don't think that we can tell which part of it is the most important, but if I had to choose, I would say that it would be the matrix, which is the only living part of the nail. I suppose you have observed that it doesn't hurt if you clip your nails. The reason of it is that during a manicure session the matrix remains untouched, and none of the other parts could produce pain. The matrix is located behind and underneath the nail fold and this is the part that produces the keratin, the protein I mentioned before. If this part is damaged, the growth of the nail will be affected.

The nail plate is the part we usually refer to when we say 'nail'. That is the transparent part of the nail composed of layers of keratin. The nail bed is situated under the nail plate and it is responsible for the color and shape of the nail plate.

The lunula is the only visible part of the matrix, a whitish crescent shape, also referred to as 'moon', and it is visible only on larger nails.

The free edge is the part of the nail that elongates past the finger. Its normal color is white, and we should always leave free edges in order to prevent infections.



All this being said, we get to the part where we can define the function of our fingernails. In simple terms the fingernails are used as counterforce when our fingers touch an object, so the sensitivity of the fingertip is enhanced, even though there are no nerve endings in the fingernail itself (otherwise we would be able to feel with the fingernails and we wouldn't be able to clip them).

We can draw the conclusion that if the matrix is damaged, and the nail growth is affected, then the sensitivity of the fingertips is diminished.