A Succession of Mees' Lines in Arsenical Polyneuropathy

Abstract

In a patient with arsenical polyneuropathy, Mees' lines were first evident as broad single bands in the nails shortly after onset of neuropathic symptoms. A succession of lines appeared during nearly three months of hospitalization. Newer bands were progressively narrower and less dense than the original lines. While multiple lines may be due to multiple episodes of arsenic ingestion, an alternate theory suggests that they may be band like precipitations of arsenic within the nail matrices (Liesegang's phenomenon).