Kansas Practical Cosmetology Practice Test

The term for the cuticle that overlaps the lunula at the base of the nail is the eponychium. This bit of living skin sits at the base and forms a protective seal over the matrix where new nail cells are produced, helping safeguard growth and keep contaminants out. The hyponychium is the skin under the free edge of the nail, not at the base; the perionychium refers to the surrounding tissue and folds around the nail; and the lunula is simply the visible pale crescent at the base of the nail, not the cuticle.