Dermatomes of the Body and What They Do

A dermatome is an area of skin that gets its sensation from a specific spinal nerve root. Spinal nerves exist in 31 pairs, one on each side of the spine. These nerves send signals for things like pressure, pain, temperature, and texture from your skin to thespinal cordand brain.

Dermatome Groups

Dermatomes are divided into groups based on where in the spine they originate:

While the body has 31 spinal nerves, you only have 30 dermatomes. That’s because C1 (in your neck) doesn’t provide sensory function.At the lower end, the 11 lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal dermatomes are often grouped together as the lower extremity dermatomes.

What Is a Spinal Nerve Root?Aspinal nerve rootis a bundle of nerve fibers that branches off from the spinal cord and passes through an opening between two vertebrae (small bones that make up your backbone).From there, the nerves travel throughout your torso, arms, and legs. These nerves provide sensory information and motor function (movement).

What Is a Spinal Nerve Root?

Aspinal nerve rootis a bundle of nerve fibers that branches off from the spinal cord and passes through an opening between two vertebrae (small bones that make up your backbone).From there, the nerves travel throughout your torso, arms, and legs. These nerves provide sensory information and motor function (movement).

Locations

The exact location of dermatomes is different from person to person because the nerves may overlap in some areas.However, dermatome maps are a good guide to where they lie in most people.

On the torso, dermatomes are horizontal stripes stacked on top of each other. However, they’re a combination of angular and straight stripes on your arms and legs.

Cervical Nerves and Dermatomes

The seven dermatomes associated with cervical nerves include:

Thoracic Nerves and Dermatomes

The thoracic dermatomes travel downward from where their nerves emerge from the spinal column and wrap around the torso.

The first nine form relatively straight lines down the chest, while the lower ones dip down in the center. The 12 dermatomes associated with the thoracic nerves include:

Lumbar Nerves and Dermatomes

The lumbar dermatomes also travel downward from where the nerves leave the spine, and they continue their downward course as they come around the hips.

The five dermatomes associated with lumbar nerve roots include:

Sacral Nerves and Dermatomes

The sacral dermatomes associated with the five sacral nerves are:

Coccygeal Nerve and Dermatome

The final dermatome and single spinal nerve in the coccygeal region affects an area of the buttocks and the tailbone area.

Why Dermatomes Matter

In clinical practice, dermatomes are important to healthcare providers when they identify wherenerve problemsoriginate and to diagnose certain conditions.

Dermatome mapping tends to be accurate but not all the time, though. Research into leg pain patterns from damaged L5 and S1 nerve roots used MRI to analyze spinal injuries and found 50% to 80% of injuries corresponded to dermatome sensations.

Shingles

Shingles, also called herpes zoster, results from a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox.

Once you’ve had chickenpox, the virus stays in your body forever, lying dormant in a collection of nerve fibers between vertebrae called the dorsal root ganglion.When this virus becomes active later in life, it causes shingles. Symptoms include:

The rash is most common in the thoracic dermatomes. If it’s in one or two neighboring dermatomes, it’s called localized zoster. When it spreads across three or more of these sensory regions, it’s called disseminated zoster.

Healthcare providers suspect herpes zoster if they see a linear rash that follows the pattern of the dermatomes, especially if the person is known to have had chickenpox. To confirm the diagnosis, they‘ll generally test fluid from a blister or scrapings of cells to see if the virus is present.

Herpes Zoster and Immune FunctionDisseminated zoster often occurs in people who have a suppressed or compromisedimmune system. Some studies identify an especially high risk in people who have received organ transplants and those with blood-related cancers.

Herpes Zoster and Immune Function

Disseminated zoster often occurs in people who have a suppressed or compromisedimmune system. Some studies identify an especially high risk in people who have received organ transplants and those with blood-related cancers.

Spinal Cord Injury

Dermatomes are especially useful in determining the location of damage inspinal cord injuries. Healthcare providers test one dermatome at a time during an exam.

When they identify a particular dermatome as affected, it tells them where on the spinal cord the damage is.For example, if someone has impaired sensory function down the back of the calf and in the little toe, that points to the S1 dermatome as a likely site of injury.

Pinched Nerves

A pinched nerve, also calledradiculopathy, results from narrowing of the space where the nerve roots pass between the vertebrae. Because the nerve root is involved, radiculopathy can cause symptoms in a dermatomal pattern, including:

Symptoms may vary depending on which nerve root is affected. The specific changes and location of symptoms can tell healthcare providers where the radiculopathy has occurred.

Summary

If you experience symptoms associated with a spinal injury, radiculopathy, or other condition affecting dermatomes, see your healthcare provider for an accurate diagnosis and treatment.

14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Orru' S, Bierbaum S, Enk A, Hengel H, Hoffelner M, Huzly D,et al.Skin manifestations after immunisation with an adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine, Germany, 2020.Euro Surveill. 2023 Dec;28(50):2300261. doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.50.2300261Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical features of shingles.DermNet.Dermatomes.Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.Dermatomes Anatomy.Cedars-Sinai.Spinal Cord and Nerve Roots.Patel NT, Smith HF.Clinically Relevant Anatomical Variations in the Brachial Plexus.Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Feb 22;13(5):830. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13050830Lahoti A, Singh A, Bisen YT, Bakshi AM.Cutaneous Manifestations and Neurological Diseases.Cureus. 2023 Oct 14;15(10):e47024. doi:10.7759/cureus.47024Albert HB, Hansen JK, Søgaard H, Kent P.Where do patients with MRI-confirmed single-level radiculopathy experience pain, and what is the clinical interpretability of these pain patterns? A cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study.Chiropr Man Therap. 2019;27:50. doi:10.1186/s12998-019-0273-8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of shingles (herpes zoster).American Academy of Dermatology Association.Shingles: diagnosis and treatment.Giannelos N, Curran D, Nguyen C, Kagia C, Vroom N, Vroling H.The Incidence of Herpes Zoster Complications: A Systematic Literature Review.Infect Dis Ther. 2024 Jul;13(7):1461-1486. doi:10.1007/s40121-024-01002-4Rupp R, Biering-Sørensen F, Burns SP, Graves DE, Guest J, Jones L,et al.International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: Revised 2019.Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2021 Spring;27(2):1-22. doi:10.46292/sci2702-1Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.Childress MA, Becker BA.Nonoperative Management of Cervical Radiculopathy.Am Fam Physician. 2016 May 1;93(9):746-54. PMID: 27175952Additional ReadingKanai A, Niki Y, Hayashi N, Maeda S, Horie K, Okamoto H.The initial subjective sensory change in the dermatome during intrathecal injection of plain bupivacaine predicts the spread of sensory blockade: a prospective multi-level modeling study.Anesth Pain Med. 2019;9(5):e91216. Published 2019 Sep 18. doi:10.5812/aapm.91216Walji AH, Tsui BCH.Clinical anatomy of the dermatomes and innervation of the joints. In: Tsui B, Suresh S, eds.Pediatric atlas of ultrasound- and nerve stimulation-guided regional anesthesia.New York, NY: Springer; 205-222.

14 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Orru' S, Bierbaum S, Enk A, Hengel H, Hoffelner M, Huzly D,et al.Skin manifestations after immunisation with an adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine, Germany, 2020.Euro Surveill. 2023 Dec;28(50):2300261. doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.50.2300261Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical features of shingles.DermNet.Dermatomes.Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.Dermatomes Anatomy.Cedars-Sinai.Spinal Cord and Nerve Roots.Patel NT, Smith HF.Clinically Relevant Anatomical Variations in the Brachial Plexus.Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Feb 22;13(5):830. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13050830Lahoti A, Singh A, Bisen YT, Bakshi AM.Cutaneous Manifestations and Neurological Diseases.Cureus. 2023 Oct 14;15(10):e47024. doi:10.7759/cureus.47024Albert HB, Hansen JK, Søgaard H, Kent P.Where do patients with MRI-confirmed single-level radiculopathy experience pain, and what is the clinical interpretability of these pain patterns? A cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study.Chiropr Man Therap. 2019;27:50. doi:10.1186/s12998-019-0273-8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of shingles (herpes zoster).American Academy of Dermatology Association.Shingles: diagnosis and treatment.Giannelos N, Curran D, Nguyen C, Kagia C, Vroom N, Vroling H.The Incidence of Herpes Zoster Complications: A Systematic Literature Review.Infect Dis Ther. 2024 Jul;13(7):1461-1486. doi:10.1007/s40121-024-01002-4Rupp R, Biering-Sørensen F, Burns SP, Graves DE, Guest J, Jones L,et al.International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: Revised 2019.Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2021 Spring;27(2):1-22. doi:10.46292/sci2702-1Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.Childress MA, Becker BA.Nonoperative Management of Cervical Radiculopathy.Am Fam Physician. 2016 May 1;93(9):746-54. PMID: 27175952Additional ReadingKanai A, Niki Y, Hayashi N, Maeda S, Horie K, Okamoto H.The initial subjective sensory change in the dermatome during intrathecal injection of plain bupivacaine predicts the spread of sensory blockade: a prospective multi-level modeling study.Anesth Pain Med. 2019;9(5):e91216. Published 2019 Sep 18. doi:10.5812/aapm.91216Walji AH, Tsui BCH.Clinical anatomy of the dermatomes and innervation of the joints. In: Tsui B, Suresh S, eds.Pediatric atlas of ultrasound- and nerve stimulation-guided regional anesthesia.New York, NY: Springer; 205-222.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Orru' S, Bierbaum S, Enk A, Hengel H, Hoffelner M, Huzly D,et al.Skin manifestations after immunisation with an adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine, Germany, 2020.Euro Surveill. 2023 Dec;28(50):2300261. doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.50.2300261Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical features of shingles.DermNet.Dermatomes.Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.Dermatomes Anatomy.Cedars-Sinai.Spinal Cord and Nerve Roots.Patel NT, Smith HF.Clinically Relevant Anatomical Variations in the Brachial Plexus.Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Feb 22;13(5):830. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13050830Lahoti A, Singh A, Bisen YT, Bakshi AM.Cutaneous Manifestations and Neurological Diseases.Cureus. 2023 Oct 14;15(10):e47024. doi:10.7759/cureus.47024Albert HB, Hansen JK, Søgaard H, Kent P.Where do patients with MRI-confirmed single-level radiculopathy experience pain, and what is the clinical interpretability of these pain patterns? A cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study.Chiropr Man Therap. 2019;27:50. doi:10.1186/s12998-019-0273-8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of shingles (herpes zoster).American Academy of Dermatology Association.Shingles: diagnosis and treatment.Giannelos N, Curran D, Nguyen C, Kagia C, Vroom N, Vroling H.The Incidence of Herpes Zoster Complications: A Systematic Literature Review.Infect Dis Ther. 2024 Jul;13(7):1461-1486. doi:10.1007/s40121-024-01002-4Rupp R, Biering-Sørensen F, Burns SP, Graves DE, Guest J, Jones L,et al.International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: Revised 2019.Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2021 Spring;27(2):1-22. doi:10.46292/sci2702-1Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.Childress MA, Becker BA.Nonoperative Management of Cervical Radiculopathy.Am Fam Physician. 2016 May 1;93(9):746-54. PMID: 27175952

Orru' S, Bierbaum S, Enk A, Hengel H, Hoffelner M, Huzly D,et al.Skin manifestations after immunisation with an adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine, Germany, 2020.Euro Surveill. 2023 Dec;28(50):2300261. doi:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.50.2300261

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical features of shingles.

DermNet.Dermatomes.

Maine Developmental Disabilities Council.Dermatomes Anatomy.

Cedars-Sinai.Spinal Cord and Nerve Roots.

Patel NT, Smith HF.Clinically Relevant Anatomical Variations in the Brachial Plexus.Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Feb 22;13(5):830. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13050830

Lahoti A, Singh A, Bisen YT, Bakshi AM.Cutaneous Manifestations and Neurological Diseases.Cureus. 2023 Oct 14;15(10):e47024. doi:10.7759/cureus.47024

Albert HB, Hansen JK, Søgaard H, Kent P.Where do patients with MRI-confirmed single-level radiculopathy experience pain, and what is the clinical interpretability of these pain patterns? A cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study.Chiropr Man Therap. 2019;27:50. doi:10.1186/s12998-019-0273-8

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of shingles (herpes zoster).

American Academy of Dermatology Association.Shingles: diagnosis and treatment.

Giannelos N, Curran D, Nguyen C, Kagia C, Vroom N, Vroling H.The Incidence of Herpes Zoster Complications: A Systematic Literature Review.Infect Dis Ther. 2024 Jul;13(7):1461-1486. doi:10.1007/s40121-024-01002-4

Rupp R, Biering-Sørensen F, Burns SP, Graves DE, Guest J, Jones L,et al.International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury: Revised 2019.Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2021 Spring;27(2):1-22. doi:10.46292/sci2702-1

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Radiculopathy.

Childress MA, Becker BA.Nonoperative Management of Cervical Radiculopathy.Am Fam Physician. 2016 May 1;93(9):746-54. PMID: 27175952

Kanai A, Niki Y, Hayashi N, Maeda S, Horie K, Okamoto H.The initial subjective sensory change in the dermatome during intrathecal injection of plain bupivacaine predicts the spread of sensory blockade: a prospective multi-level modeling study.Anesth Pain Med. 2019;9(5):e91216. Published 2019 Sep 18. doi:10.5812/aapm.91216Walji AH, Tsui BCH.Clinical anatomy of the dermatomes and innervation of the joints. In: Tsui B, Suresh S, eds.Pediatric atlas of ultrasound- and nerve stimulation-guided regional anesthesia.New York, NY: Springer; 205-222.

Kanai A, Niki Y, Hayashi N, Maeda S, Horie K, Okamoto H.The initial subjective sensory change in the dermatome during intrathecal injection of plain bupivacaine predicts the spread of sensory blockade: a prospective multi-level modeling study.Anesth Pain Med. 2019;9(5):e91216. Published 2019 Sep 18. doi:10.5812/aapm.91216

Walji AH, Tsui BCH.Clinical anatomy of the dermatomes and innervation of the joints. In: Tsui B, Suresh S, eds.Pediatric atlas of ultrasound- and nerve stimulation-guided regional anesthesia.New York, NY: Springer; 205-222.

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