What is "paronychia"

Paronychia \Par`o*nych"i*a\, n. [L., fr. Gr. parwnychi`a; para` beside + 'o`nyx, 'o`nychos, a nail[1].] (Med.) A whitlow, or felon[3].
--Quincy.

inflammation beside a fingernail, 1590s, from Latin, from Greek paronykhia "whitlow," from para- "beside" (see para- (1)) + onyx "nail" (see nail (n.)) + abstract noun ending -ia.

n. (context medicine English) An infection under the cuticle of a fingernail or toenail.

1. n. infection in the tissues adjacent to a nail on a finger or toe

2. low-growing annual or perennial herbs or woody plants; whitlowworts [syn: genus Paronychia]

A paronychia (; from para, "around" and onukh-, "nail") is a nail disease that is an often-tender bacterial or fungal infection of the hand or foot where the nail and skin meet at the side or the base of a finger or toenail. The infection can start suddenly (acute paronychia) or gradually (chronic paronychia). Paronychia is commonly misapplied as a synonym for whitlow or felon.

Paronychia is a genus of plants in the pink family with over 110 species worldwide, mostly from warm-temperate North America, Eurasia, South America and Africa. They are herbs that are annual or biennial or perennial in life span. Some species have a woody base. For the most part they have small, white to yellow-white colored flowers that are often hidden within the paired bracts.

The genus Siphonychia has been incorporated into Paronychia by botanists.

The common names for some of the species include chickweed, nailwort, and Whitlow-wort. The genus gets its name from the disease of the fingernails which it was once thought to cure.