The accessory nail of the fifth toe is a physical trait of the small toe, where a minuscule "sixth toenail" is present in the outer corner of the nail situated on the smallest toe. It is commonly perceived to be especially present amongst Han Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

; however, this is partially due to legend, and is not entirely medically proven.

Trait

The trait can be observed on either one or both feet, where there is a separation of the toenail situated on the smallest toe. The separated part of the nail forms a smaller "sixth toenail" on the corner of the larger, or "main" section of the toenail, on the outermost side of the foot, which protrudes outwards from the corner of the larger nail. The additional "nail" can be cut with a nail clipper

Nail clipper

A nail cutter is a hand tool used to trim fingernails and toenails.-Design:Nail cutters are usually made of metal but can also be made of plastic. Two common varieties are the plier type and the compound lever type. A third variety of the push-button type has also been introduced. All are common...

, just like any other nail.

Perception

The trait is commonly perceived to be widely present among Han Chinese, although this has not been medically proven. It is also present in other ethnic groups.

Legend

Chinese mythology follows that during the time of the Yellow Emperor

Yellow Emperor

The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...

, there were two types of people living in China, those who were the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, and those who were nomadic Qiang people. As the Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

 people attacked the Qiang, led by Yin Wang, they abducted a Qiang woman, who later tried to escape. After Yin Wang stabbed her in the abdomen as she tried to escape, she gave birth to two children with a scar on the small toe of the foot. The children were taken back by Yin Wang for adoption, and their descendants became born with double nails on their small toes.

See also

• Mongoloid race
  Mongoloid race
  Mongoloid is a term sometimes used by forensic anthropologists and physical anthropologists to refer to populations that share certain phenotypic traits such as epicanthic fold and shovel-shaped incisors and other physical traits common in East Asia, the Americas and the Arctic...
  
  
• Dominance (genetics)
• Mongolian spot
  Mongolian spot
  A Mongolian spot, also known as "Mongolian blue spot," "Congenital dermal melanocytosis," and "Dermal melanocytosis" is a benign, flat, congenital birthmark with wavy borders and irregular shape, discovered on and named after Mongolians by Erwin Bälz. It is also extremely prevalent among East...
  
  
• Epicanthal fold
  Epicanthal fold
  An epicanthic fold, epicanthal fold, or epicanthus is a skin fold of the upper eyelid, covering the inner corner of the eye....
  
  

See also

• Congenital malformations of the dermatoglyphs
  Congenital malformations of the dermatoglyphs
  Congenital malformations of the dermatoglyphs are a cutaneous condition divided into four main categories based on the appearance of the dermal ridges of which they are composed: ridge aplasia; ridge hypoplasia; ridge dissociation; and ridges-off-the-end....
  
  
• List of cutaneous conditions