Dermatomes and Myotomal Maps

Author: Michelle Lin, MD
Updated: 5/26/2013

Dermatomes and Myotomal Maps

Dermatome map diagram

Testing Motor Function by Level

Nerve Level Motor Function
C1-C4 Spontaneous breathing
C5 Shoulder abduction (deltoid)
C6 Wrist extension (carpi radialis longus and brevis)
C7 Elbow extension (triceps)
C8 Finger flexion (flexor digitorum superficialis/profundis, lumbricals)
T1 Finger adduction & abduction (dorsal/palmar interossei, abductor digiti quinti)
T1-T12 Intercostal and abdominal muscles
T12-L3 Hip flexion (iliopsoas)
L2-L4 Hip flexion, knee extension (quadriceps), hip adduction
L4 Ankle dorsiflexion and inversion (anterior tibialis)
L5 Big toe extension (ext hallucis longus), heel walk (ext digitorum), hip abduction (gluteus medius)
S1 Ankle plantarflexion and eversion (peroneus longus), toe walk (peroneus brevis), hip extension (gluteus maximus)
S2-S4 Rectal sphincter tone

References

  1. "Dermatomes Anatomy: Overview, Gross Anatomy, Natural Variants". Emedicine.medscape.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. [Source]