NAILS

(Germ, nagel.) This term is given to the terminal horny appendages of the fingers and toes when they arc in the form of flattened or depre ed plates, serving to sup|xirt a broad tactile surface, as in the human fingers. When these appendages are compre ed, curved. pointed, and extended beyond the digit, they are called " talons." or "claws;" when they encase the extremity of ■ digit like a box, they are called " hoofs." [s. 823]