Koilonychia | |
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Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | medical genetics |
ICD-10 | L60.3, Q84.6 |
ICD-9-CM | 703.8, 757.5 |
DiseasesDB | 7207 |
MedlinePlus | 003247 |
Koilonychia (from the Greek: koilos-, hollow, onikh-, nail), also known as spoon nails, is a nail disease that can be a sign of hypochromic anemia, especially iron-deficiency anemia. " It refers to abnormally thin nails (usually of the hand) which have lost their convexity, becoming flat or even concave in shape. In a sense, koilonychia is the opposite of nail clubbing. In early stages nails may be brittle and chip or break easily.
Koilonychia is associated with Plummer-Vinson syndrome and iron deficiency anemia.