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I can distinguish the difference between "in" and "on", if it is very clear to do so.

But there are things that people don't know if they use them with "in" or "on".

A doctor (on Quora) said

"

Paronychia: An infection of the tissue folds around the nails.

Either can technically be correct as the tissue folds, while implying “inside” the folds, are on the outside of the finger, not in the interstitial tissues

"

Searching Google book for "paronychia in the finger", I have 3 hits but for "paronychia on the finger", I have just 1 hit.

Is it correct to say "I have paronychia in my finger" or "I have paronychia on my finger"?

enter image description here (Source)

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    Generally "on" is used for external conditions (e.g. a wart or a graze) and "in" for internal conditions (a deep cut, a pain). But if it's a rare condition, or one which has both internal and external elements, people may be unsure. I wouldn't worry either way. Commented Nov 18, 2024 at 15:36
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    It's a very technical term, I think most people wouldn't even know what you're talking about (I never heard of it before). Just say "infection around my fingernail." Commented Nov 18, 2024 at 16:18
  • Gross picture! Yuk. Commented Nov 18, 2024 at 18:40
  • @Barmar I agree. My French translation professor used to point out that English has much less tendency to use technical medical terms than French - eg "heart attack" vs "infarction", "heartburn" vs "angine", etc. This could be the case for OP's native language as well. Commented Nov 18, 2024 at 19:08
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    If a doctor said it on Quora why ask us here? Commented Nov 18, 2024 at 21:46

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The word "paronychia" is too rare to have any real idiomatic colocation with particular prepositions.

To the extent that the word would follow the pattern of more common words like "infection" or "inflammation", I would use "Paronychia of the fingernail"

However since a paronychia is, by definition, an infection of a nail, the only possible locations are a finger or a toe, and context would normally clarify (or else the location would not be relevant)

The patient presented with a paronychia which was causing him difficulty in walking. Treatment was by topical antibiotics.

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  • That picture reminded me of something. I've worked out what it was. My sister had it aged 8. My mother (and the doctor) said it was called a whitlow. Commented Nov 19, 2024 at 13:22

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