What is a bacterial infection of the tissue surrounding the nail called?

The term for a bacterial infection of the tissue surrounding the nail is paronychia. This condition typically manifests as redness, swelling, and pain around the nail bed, which may also present with pus in some cases. Paronychia can occur due to injurious factors like trauma to the nail area, prolonged exposure to water, or other irritants that breach the protective barrier of the skin, allowing bacteria to enter.

Agnails refer to the dead skin surrounding the nails that can become torn or damaged, but it does not specifically denote an infection. Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nail itself, affecting the nail's appearance and structure, rather than the surrounding tissue. A hangnail is the small piece of skin that is torn but does not indicate a bacterial infection. Therefore, paronychia is the correct term for describing a bacterial infection affecting the skin around a nail.