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Hard as Nails!
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!
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.
Do the math to label the diagram of a fingernail.
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.
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.
That pale half circle just above the cuticle is called the lunula.
Use the code at right to see what this Latin word means.
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bone
lunula
nail bed
cuticle
nail root
Why doesn't it hurt
when I cut my nails?
www.kidscoop.com © Vicki Whiting April 2021
Official Kids Mag
