Beau's lines

Beau's lines
ICD-10	L60.4
ICD-9	703.8
DiseasesDB	30839

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Beau's lines are deep grooved lines that run from side to side on the fingernail. They may look like indentations or ridges in the nail plate that could be a sign of stress. Beau's lines are the result of a temporary cessation of cell division in the nail matrix, and they are associated with many serious conditions.

Historical Perspective

This condition of the nail was named by a French physician, Joseph Honoré Simon Beau (1806–1865), who first described it in 1846.

Causes

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Coronary occlusion, Shock
Chemical / poisoning	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	Dermatologic disorders
Drug Side Effect	Multiple underlying causes, most notably chemotherapy
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Diabetes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Severe infectious disease
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	No underlying causes
Neurologic	Delirium, Depression
Nutritional / Metabolic	Malnutrition
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	Chemotherapy
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	Chemotherapy, Toxins
Psychiatric	Delirium, Depression
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	Hypocalcemia
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Reiter's disease, Gout
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Trauma in general and to the nail in particular
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Deep sea diving, Surgery

Causes in Alphabetical Order

• Arthritis
• Chemotherapy particularly cytotoxic agents
• Coronary occlusion
• Delirium
• Depression
• Dermatologic disorders
• Diabetes
• Drugs
• Gout
• Hypocalcemia
• Infection
• Malnutrition
• Reiter's Disease
• Severe infectious disease
• Shock
• Stress
• Surgery
• Toxins
• Trauma
• Traumatic damage to nail matrix

Diagnosis

Physical Examination

Beau's lines should be distinguished from Muehrcke's lines of the fingernails. While Beau's lines are actual ridges and indentations in the nail plate, Muehrcke's lines are areas of hypopigmentation without palpable ridges.

Research

A researcher found Beau's lines in the fingernails of 6 divers following a deep saturation dive to a pressure equal to 335 meters of sea water, and in 2 of 6 divers following a similar dive to 305 meters.

External links

• Image of Beau's Lines at Johns Hopkins University
• Images of Beau's Lines