splinter hemorrhage - Health Topics
Overview What is a splinter hemorrhage? Splinter hemorrhages are small areas of bleeding (hemorrhaging) under your nails. They can affect your fingernails or toenails.
Understanding the Context
They look like thin, red or reddish-brown lines below your nails. They run vertically in the direction of your nail growth. Splinter hemorrhages (or haemorrhages) are tiny blood clots that tend to run vertically under the nails. Splinter hemorrhages appear as dark, vertical lines under your fingernails or toenails.
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Key Insights
The most common cause of splinter hemorrhages is trauma to your nail. Splinter hemorrhages occur when blood leaks or swells from small blood vessels that run up and down the nail bed. Tiny blood clots known as microemboli in the capillaries can also cause... Splinter hemorrhages represent rupture of longitudinally oriented nail plate capillaries leading to extravasation and the historical hallmark of linear discoloration. They are named splinter hemorrhages because they look like a splinter under the fingernail.
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The hemorrhages may be caused by tiny blood clots that damage the small capillaries under the nails. Learn about splinter hemorrhages, their causes, symptoms, and treatments. Discover when nail hemorrhages may signal serious health issues and how to manage them effectively. Discover what splinter hemorrhages are, why they appear, and how to tell if those nail lines require urgent medical attention.