Muehrcke's lines

Muehrcke's lines

WikiDoc Resources for Muehrcke's lines
Articles
Most recent articles on Muehrcke's lines Most cited articles on Muehrcke's lines Review articles on Muehrcke's lines Articles on Muehrcke's lines in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Muehrcke's lines Images of Muehrcke's lines Photos of Muehrcke's lines Podcasts & MP3s on Muehrcke's lines Videos on Muehrcke's lines
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Muehrcke's lines Bandolier on Muehrcke's lines TRIP on Muehrcke's lines
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Muehrcke's lines at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Muehrcke's lines Clinical Trials on Muehrcke's lines at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Muehrcke's lines NICE Guidance on Muehrcke's lines NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Muehrcke's lines CDC on Muehrcke's lines
Books
Books on Muehrcke's lines
News
Muehrcke's lines in the news Be alerted to news on Muehrcke's lines News trends on Muehrcke's lines
Commentary
Blogs on Muehrcke's lines
Definitions
Definitions of Muehrcke's lines
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Muehrcke's lines Discussion groups on Muehrcke's lines Patient Handouts on Muehrcke's lines Directions to Hospitals Treating Muehrcke's lines Risk calculators and risk factors for Muehrcke's lines
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Muehrcke's lines Causes & Risk Factors for Muehrcke's lines Diagnostic studies for Muehrcke's lines Treatment of Muehrcke's lines
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Muehrcke's lines
International
Muehrcke's lines en Espanol Muehrcke's lines en Francais
Business
Muehrcke's lines in the Marketplace Patents on Muehrcke's lines
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Muehrcke's lines

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

Synonyms and keywords: Leukonychia striata

Overview

Muehrcke's lines are changes in the fingernail that may be a sign of an underlying medical disorder or condition.

Causes

Common causes

The appearance of Meuhrcke's lines is nonspecific, but they are often associated with decreased protein synthesis, which may occur during periods of metabolic stress (e.g., after chemotherapy) and in hypoalbuminemic states such as the nephrotic syndrome.

An example of Muehrcke's Lines in the context of chemotherapy was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007.

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	No underlying causes
Chemical / poisoning	Chemotherapy
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	Chemotherapy
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	No underlying causes
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	No underlying causes
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional / Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	Chemotherapy
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal / Electrolyte	Nephrotic syndrome
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	No underlying causes
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	No underlying causes

Causes in Alphabetical Order

• Chemotherapy
• Nephrotic syndrome

Physical examination

Muehrcke's lines are white lines that extend all the way across the nail and lie parallel to the lunula (half moon). In contrast to Beau's lines, they are not grooved. The lines are actually in the vascular nail bed underneath the nail plate, and as such, they do not move with nail growth. Meuhrcke's lines disappear when pressure is placed over the nail, blanching the underlying nail bed.

See also

• Mees' lines
• Beau's lines