NEET PG DENTAL EXAM

Detailed explanation-1: -The lunula is the white crescent-shaped area at the base of a nail. In humans, it appears by week 14 of gestation, and has a primary structural role in defining the free edge of the distal nail plate (the part of the nail that grows outward).

Detailed explanation-2: -Abstract. The lunula is the visible portion of the distal nail matrix that extends beyond the proximal nailfold. It is white, half-moon-shaped, appears by week 14 of gestation, has unique histologic features. The lunula has a primary structural role in defining the free edge of the distal nail plate.

Detailed explanation-3: -The lunula, or the whitish “small moon” at the base of the nail, gets its color from the nuclei of living nail cells transitioning from the matrix. As the nail grows, those cells lose viability and the nuclei disintegrate, making the nail transparent. A common myth is that an obvious lunula signals a healthy nail.