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Aren’t you glad you have fingernails to help you scratch it? And your toenails come in handy to protect your toes when you stub them!
Since fingernails and toenails are so hard, some people think they are bones. NOT TRUE! Fingernails and toenails are more like your hair than your bones. Both are made of keratin and that is what makes them tough.
Keratin shows up in other animals as well. They are part of a horse’s hooves, cats’ claws, hair, porcupine quills, bird feathers, and even a rhino’s horn!
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The hard surface of your nails helps to protect the tips of your fingers and toes. Your fingernails make it easier to scratch an itch or peel an orange.
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Do the math to label the diagram of a ngernail.
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nail root
cuticle
Nails start in the nail root , which is hidden under the cuticle . At the root of the nail, new cells grow. The new nail cells push the old nail cells along the nail bed. The cuticle is the tiny sliver of skin where your nail comes out from under your skin. Cuticles help to protect the new nail as it grows out from the nail root.
The part of your nails that you can see is dead, so it doesn’t hurt to cut them. If a nail rips away from the tender skin underneath, OW! That really hurts. That is why your fingers and toes need tough nails, to protect the sensitive skin underneath.
nail bed
bone
lunula
That pale half circle just above the cuticle is called the lunula . Use the code at right to see what this Latin word means.
© Vicki Whiting April 2026
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