par Singal, Archana;Richert, Bertrand 
Référence Baran & Dawber’s Diseases of the Nails and their Management, wiley, page (390-408)
Publication Publié, 2018-01
Référence Baran & Dawber’s Diseases of the Nails and their Management, wiley, page (390-408)
Publication Publié, 2018-01
Partie d'ouvrage collectif
| Résumé : | A healthy nail unit is a protected structure and resists microbial invasion because of the intrinsic morphology and microscopic structures. The nail plate is a smooth, hard, keratinized structure overlying the nail bed, the cuticle seals the potential space between the proximal nail fold and the nail plate, the nail matrix is a site of relative immune privilege, and continuous outward growth of the nail plate allows elimination of exogenous substances. Despite this, bacterial and viral infections together form a sizable proportion of nail unit infections. Nail infection occurs when either the microbial agent has a strong invading capacity or the nail unit has been damaged as a result of previous trauma or preexisting dermatoses. Certain systemic conditions such as diabetes mellitus or immune suppression (primary or secondary) predispose to nail unit infection and govern the severity, treatment outcome, and future recurrences. In addition, lack of an extensive circulatory system in certain parts of the nail unit, and thus a relative inaccessibility of the immune system, means that the body is unable to eliminate the causative microbes once an infection sets in. As awareness of most nail infections is low, they often tend to go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and hence untreated. This chapter provides an overview of the bacterial and viral infections of the nail unit. |
