Two-point discrimination sensitivity in the upper limb was evaluated in a sample of healthy, young adult men and women. A commercially available compass-type instrument was used to determine limits of two-point discrimination sensitivity in 11 skin areas on the subject's dominant side. For dermatomal regions of the arm and forearm, mean values ranged from 30.7 mm to 45.4 mm. In the hand, the skin overlying the first dorsal interosseous muscle demonstrated discrimination values of 21.0 mm while that covering the volar surface of the tips of the thumb and long and little fingers showed values of 2.6 mm. Mean discrimination values for men and women in the test sample were not significantly different for any of the areas tested except the medial surface of the forearm where women showed a greater degree of sensitivity than men. The most striking observation was the large interindividual variation in two-point discrimination sensitivity. The existence of large interindividual variation within the normal population suggested that caution should be used when one is interpreting the results of two-point discrimination testing in select patient populations.
The purpose of this study was to determine the limits of two-point discrimination ability in the lower limb in a sample of healthy, young adult men and women. Eleven different areas of skin were tested with a commercially available compass-type instrument to determine the shortest distance at which two simultaneously applied, nonpainful, light-touch stimuli could be perceived. Mean two-point discrimination values in the lower limb ranged from 43.6 mm for skin overlying the medial surface of the leg to 6.6 mm on the plantar surface of the tip of the great toe. The results also demonstrated interindividual variation in two-point discrimination for a given area of skin. In the majority of skin areas tested, mean values obtained from men and women were essentially the same. In several of the test areas, however, women were significantly better than men in their two-point discrimination ability. The observed intraindividual and interindividual variation suggests that although two-point testing is a useful clinical tool, caution is necessary when interpreting the results from patients with alterations in cutaneous sensibility.
This study was performed to assess two-point discrimination ability for skin areas of the face and trunk. Using a compass-type instrument, I determined two-point discrimination values for three areas on the face and eight, nonoverlapping regions of the neck and trunk in a sample of 43 healthy young adult men and women. Mean values for the face ranged from 14.9 mm over the eyebrow to 10.4 mm along the lateral aspect of the mandible. Values for the neck and trunk ranged from 35.2 mm for skin of the lateral neck to 55.4 mm for the region immediately lateral to the C7 spinous process. I also found interindividual variation in two-point discrimination ability for a given skin area. Except for skin overlying the body of the mandible, where values for women were lower than those measured in men, no significant differences in discrimination ability were found between men and women. Although assessment of two-point discrimination is useful in the clinical evaluation of certain types of patients, the existence of intraindividual and interindividual differences suggests that therapists must interpret the results of these tests with caution.
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