Pitting and rippling are also known as pits, onychia punctata, erosions and Rosenau’s depressions. Pits develop as a result of defective nail formation in punctate areas located in the proximal portion of the nail matrix. The surface of the nail plate is studded with small punctate depressions which vary in number, size, depth and shape. [...]
Transverse, band-like depressions extending from one lateral edge of the nail to the other, and affecting all nails at corresponding levels, are called Beau’s lines (Figures 3.18–3.22). They may be noted after any severe, sudden (particularly febrile) illness. In milder cases the nails of the thumb and the great toe are the most reliable markers, [...]
The pattern of nail ridging known as ‘herringbone nails’, with oblique lines pointing centrally to meet in the midline, has been reported as an uncommon phenomenon occurring in childhood (Figure 3.17). It characteristically disappears as the child grows. Less obvious, similar lines may be seen associated with the pointed matrix of the nailpatella syndrome. Longitudinal [...]
Small rectilinear projections extend from the proximal nail fold as far as the free edge of the nail, or they may stop short. They may be interrupted at regular intervals, giving rise to a beaded appearance. Sometimes a wide, longitudinal median ridge has the appearance, in cross-section, of a circumflex accent. The condition is inherited [...]
Longitudinal grooves represent long-lasting abnormalities and can develop under the following conditions: 1 Grooves with a physiological cause appear as shallow and delicate furrows, usually parallel, and separated by low, projecting ridges. They become more prominent with age and in certain pathological states, such as lichen planus, rheumatoid arthritis, peripheral vascular(arterial) insufficiency, Darier’s disease and [...]