Fig. 7 Nail. The slightly arched fingernail or toenail rests on the nail bed. The bed consists of epithelial cells that are continuous with the stratum basale and stratum spinosum of the epidermis. The edge of the skin fold covering the root of the nail is the eponychium. A thickened epidermal layer, the hyponychium, secures the free edge of the nail plate at the fingertip.