Nail Disorders

This book is designed to meet the need for a concise, easy-to-read text on how to approach and manage patients with nail diseases. The book opens with a description of nail anatomy and physiology, followed by a review of nail symptoms, divided according to the part of the nail apparatus involved. Non-invasive and invasive tools for the diagnosis of nail disorders are then described and insights provided into their appropriate use. Subsequent chapters review the various nail diseases, covering hereditary, traumatic, inflammatory, environmentally induced, drug-induced and neoplastic conditions as well as disorders due to systemic diseases. Informative high-quality illustrations are included for each disorder and boxes helpfully summarize the most important features, clues to diagnosis, necessary examinations, and treatments. Closing chapters address nail conditions in children and the elderly. Nail Disorders: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Management will be an invaluable, ready source of information for students in dermatology, clinical practitioners and podiatrists.

Dr. Bianca Maria Piraccini has been a researcher in dermatology at the University of Bologna since November 2000. She is Director of the Laboratory of Mycology and Parasitology and of Outpatient Consulation for Nail and Hair Disorders and Allergology in the Department of Dermatology at the university. Her principal research areas include the clinical and basic aspects of nail disorders, as well as hair biology, oral pathology and mycology. Dr. Piraccini is the author of 134 papers in international and Italian journals, nine monographs on diseases of the cutaneous appendages and 178 abstracts in international and italian reviews. She is a reviewer for several leading journals, including the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, the British Journal of Dermatology, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and the International Journal of Dermatology.