Department of Dermatology, University College of Medical Sciences, Dilshad Garden, Delhi, India.
Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2012 May-Jun;78(3):263-70. doi: 10.4103/0378-6323.95440.
Onychomycosis (OM) is the commonest disorder affecting the nail unit. The fact that it affects 3-26% people worldwide goes to show that it is a significant health problem. The prevalence of OM has been reported to be increasing over the years. Although, we know much about various predisposing factors, we are yet unclear about its exact pathogenesis. The peculiarities of the nail unit with respect to its structure and its immune mechanisms make OM an adversary, which once established is difficult to eradicate. There have been many recent advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of OM and our methods of diagnosing it. The increasingly valuable role of histopathology; refinements in its technique; PCR techniques; Optical coherence tomography and advances in spectrometric techniques have been reported. The present review is aimed at discussing the newer advances in our understanding of the pathogenesis of various clinical types of OM apart from the newer and exciting techniques of diagnosing it.
甲真菌病（OM）是最常见的影响指甲的疾病。它影响全球 3-26%的人这一事实表明它是一个重大的健康问题。OM 的患病率多年来一直在上升。尽管我们对各种诱发因素有了很多了解，但对于其确切的发病机制仍不清楚。指甲单元的结构及其免疫机制的特殊性使其成为一个难以攻克的对手。近年来，我们对 OM 的发病机制及其诊断方法的认识有了很大的进展。组织病理学的作用越来越重要；技术的改进；PCR 技术；光相干断层扫描和光谱技术的进步都有报道。本文综述旨在讨论除了诊断 OM 的新技术外，对各种临床类型 OM 的发病机制的新的认识。
