Sensory Perception

Dermatomes are areas of skin outlined in this picture which coorespond with a particular spinal nerve root. These areas are tested for numbness, hot and cold perception, vibration sense and touch. The usual way to test this is to use a pinwheel and roll it over certain dermatomes, comparing one side to another. If one side is different than the other it means that the coorelated spinal nerve may be damaged or pinched.