coronal

Coronal is an adjective meaning “of or relating to a crown.” It is used across several scientific disciplines to describe crown-like structures, or to denote a particular plane or region in anatomy and imaging.

In anatomy and medicine, the coronal plane is a vertical plane that runs from front to back, dividing the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) portions. In medical imaging, coronal views show slices parallel to this plane. The term is also used for crown-related anatomy, such as structures near the crown of a tooth, including coronal pulp or coronal dentin.

In dentistry, coronal refers specifically to the crown of a tooth as opposed to the root, and appears in terms like coronal restoration and coronal anatomy.

In astronomy, coronal relates to the solar corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, which is visible during eclipses and emits distinctive spectral lines. The term also appears in the context of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, which are large bursts of plasma and magnetic fields expelled from the solar corona into space, influencing space weather and planetary environments.

In botany and plant morphology, corona describes a crown-like structure found in some flowers, such as a petal-like ring between petals. Coronal features in plants are named for their crown-like appearance as well.

The word ultimately derives from corona, Latin for crown, reflecting the crown-like imagery common to the term’s diverse uses.