Dermatome
A Dermatome is an area of skin supplied by sensory nerve fibers from a single spinal nerve root. There are 30 defined dermatomes in the body—divided into cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal sections—that form a neurological map of your body.
Along the thorax and abdomen, the dermatomes are like a stack of discs forming a human, each supplied by a different spinal nerve. Along the arms and the legs, the pattern is different: the dermatomes run longitudinally along the limbs. Although the general pattern is similar in all people, the precise areas of innervation are as unique to an individual as fingerprints.
An area of skin innervated by a single nerve is called a peripheral nerve field. The word dermatome is formed from Ancient Greek δέρμα 'skin, hide' and τέμνω 'cut'.
The 4 Main Dermatome Sections
The nervous system is highly organized, with each spinal nerve serving a specific region:
- Cervical (C1-C8): Innervate the neck, shoulders, and arms.
- Thoracic (T1-T12): Innervate the chest, abdomen, and middle of the back.
- Lumbar (L1-L5): Innervate the front of the legs, knees, and upper/outer parts of the feet.
- Sacral (S1-S5): Innervate the groin, genitals, buttocks, and the back of the legs.[2]
