fingernail A covering for the tip of the finger that is produced by living skin cells in the finger. A fingernail consists of several parts, including the nail plate (the visible part of the nail), the nail bed (the skin beneath the nail plate), the cuticle (the tissue that overlaps the plate and rims the base of the nail), the nail folds (the skin folds that frame and support the nail on three sides), the lunula (the whitish half-moon at the base of the nail), and the matrix (the hidden part of the nail unit under the cuticle). A fingernail grows from the matrix and is composed largely of keratin, a hardened protein that is also found in skin and hair. See also nail; nail care.

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