dermatome

1. Anatomy. An area of skin innervated by sensory fibers from a single spinal nerve.
2. Medicine. An instrument used in cutting thin slices of the skin, as for skin grafts.
3. Embryology. The part of a mesodermal somite from which the dermis develops.

[DERMA- + -TOME.]

An instrument for cutting thin slices or layers of skin for grafting or for sequentially removing small lesions.

An area of skin innervated by the branches of a single spinal nerve. Dermatomes are represented as distinct areas on a dermatome map, but in reality their distribution is much more complex as there is considerable overlap between dermatomes (about 50%). See also transcutaneous nerve stimulation.

1. an instrument for cutting thin skin slices for grafting.
2. the area of skin supplied with afferent nerve fibers by a single dorsal spinal root.
3. the lateral part of an embryonic somite.

• Brown d. — an electric or pneumatic instrument used for cutting split-thickness skin grafts.

Dermatome may refer to:

• Dermatome (instrument), a surgical instrument used to produce thin slices of skin
• Dermatome (anatomy), an area of skin that is supplied by a single pair of dorsal roots
• Cutis plate, the dorsal portion of the paraxial mesoderm somite which gives rise to dermis

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