A 50-year-old man with nephrotic syndrome presents with paired, white, transverse bands across the nail beds that do not move with nail growth. The proximal and distal portions of the nail remain normal in color. Which condition do these nail findings represent?

• A Terry's nails
• B Beau's lines
• C Lindsay's nails
• D Muehrcke's lines ✓

Explanation

Muehrcke's lines are paired, white, transverse bands caused by localized edema of the nail bed compressing underlying vessels, typically seen in hypoalbuminemia and nephrotic syndrome. They do not move with nail growth because the abnormality is in the vascular bed, not the plate. Terry's nails are predominantly white with a distal pink band, while Lindsay's nails are half white and half red-brown.

Reference: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21st ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.