Cuticle Cuticle Charales Category="Animal anatomy"Category="Plant anatomy"Category="Zootomy"This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality

For an article on the anatomical structure see Eponychium.

In Human Anatomy, the cuticle is the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail.

Cuticle is also used as a term for the Exoskeleton, outside of Epidermis of many invertebrates.
In Botany the cuticle is the waxy covering produced by the epidermal cells of leaves to protect the Plant from excessive water loss. The cuticle is thicker in plants living in dry climates than in those from wet climates, and tends to be thicker on the top of the leaf.

The cuticle is mostly composed of Cutin and waxes. "The waxy sheet of cuticle also function in defense, forming a physical barrier that resists penetration by virus particles, baterial cells, and the spores or growing filaments of fungi". (Freeman, 2002). Cutin, as a structural component of the cuticle, is covered with cuticular and epicuticular waxes, a mixture of hydrophobic materials containing C26 to C36 aliphatic compounds.

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The cuticle is an important aspect of manicuring. Remove of excess cuticle is essential for hand maintinance.