This article is about infection of the tip of the finger. For infection at the side or base of the fingernail, see
Paronychia. For other uses, see
Whitlow (disambiguation).
Infection of the fingertip
A whitlow or felon is an
infection of the tip of the
finger.[1][2][a]Herpetic whitlow and melanotic whitlow (subungual melanoma) are subtypes that are not synonymous with the term felon. A felon is an "extremely painful abscess on the palmar aspect of the fingertip".[6] Whitlow usually refers to herpetic whitlow, though it can also refer to melanotic whitlow (subungual melanoma),[7] which somewhat resembles
acral lentiginous melanoma. The terms whitlow and felon are also sometimes misapplied to
paronychia, which is an infection of the tissue at the side or base of the
nail. Felon presents with a throbbing pain, clinically.
Notes
^The term whitlow derives from the Scandinavian whickflaw, combining a variant of quick (a sensitive spot) and flaw.[3][4]Felon comes from the Old French, derived from the Latin root fel-, literally meaning "bile" and referring to the toxic content of the abscess.[5]
^Fitzpatrick, Thomas B.; Klauss Wolff; Wolff, Klaus Dieter; Johnson, Richard R.; Suurmond, Dick; Richard Suurmond (2005). Fitzpatrick's color atlas and synopsis of clinical dermatology. McGraw-Hill Medical Pub. Division.
ISBN0-07-144019-4.