Dermatome and fasciatome

Increased knowledge of the rich innervation of the deep fascia and its anatomical organization indicates the need to reevaluate maps of the dermatome according to the new findings. The authors present a distinction between dermatome and fasciatome, basing their approach to the literature on nerve root stimulation and comparing dermatomeric and myomeric maps. The former represents the portion of tissue composed of skin, hypodermis, and superficial fascia supplied by all the cutaneous branches of an individual spinal nerve; the latter includes the portion of deep fascia supplied by the same nerve root and organized according to force lines to emphasize the main directions of movement. The dermatome is important for esteroception, whereas the fasciatome is important for proprioception. If they are altered, the dermatome shows clearly localized pain and the fasciatome irradiating pain according to the organization of the fascial anatomy. Clin. Anat. 32:896–902, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.