Fingernails & toenails – Twenty entities with a purpose

We have twenty total on our body when it comes to fingernails and toenails. Some of us keep them short, tamed, long, clean, or dirty. Fingernails and toenails are part of our personal hygiene. There’s an entire nail industry full of colors, designs, and shapes. Besides being possible art projects, nails do have a purpose. Every primate has nails, although we can survive without them.

Here’s a list of reasons we have fingernails for motor functioning:

1.      Protection – fingernails can stop viruses and bacteria from entering the body because they reach the nail before they reach the skin.

2.      Sensation – our nails do …read more