Hardness of human nail as an index of nutritional status: a preliminary communication

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Abstract
1. The Knoop test of hardness of materials has been used to test the hardness of human nail.2. The range of hardness of nails was found to be small in healthy persons and large in malnourished children.3. Nails from malnourished children were in general much harder than those from healthy persons. The nails of a small group of three children became softer while they were recovering from malnutrition.