Dermatomes are areas of skin, ... Shingles, or herpes zoster, ... Together, these areas create a surface map of the body.

Medically reviewed by Lauren Schlanger, MD 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.

Shingles is very common affecting one-third of Americans. ... The classic history with zoster is onset of pain in the specific "dermatome" distribution of the sensory nerve root that has the VZV ...

"So, shingles is the chicken pox virus that comes out later in life, it usually comes out in one dermatome or one nerve distribution, so it will look like a stripe on your chest, your face," said ...