The coronal plane (also known as the frontal plane) is an
anatomical plane
An anatomical plane is a hypothetical plane used to transect the body, in order to describe the location of structures or the direction of movements. In human and animal anatomy, three principal planes are used:
* The sagittal plane or latera ...
that divides the body into
dorsal and ventral sections. It is perpendicular to the
sagittal and
transverse planes.
Details
The coronal plane is an example of a
longitudinal plane. For a human, the mid-coronal plane would transect a standing body into two halves (front and back, or anterior and posterior) in an imaginary line that cuts through both shoulders. The description of the coronal plane applies to most animals as well as humans even though humans walk upright and the various planes are usually shown in the vertical orientation.
The sternal plane (''planum sternale'') is a coronal plane which transects the front of the
sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sha ...
.
Etymology
The term is derived from Latin ''corona'' ('garland, crown'), from Ancient Greek κορώνη (''korōnē'', 'garland, wreath'). The coronal plane is so-called because it lies in the direction of
Coronal suture.
Additional images
File:Coronal plane CT scan of the paranasal sinuses illustrative image.jpg, CT scan of the paranasal sinuses
Paranasal sinuses are a group of four paired air-filled spaces that surround the nasal cavity. The maxillary sinuses are located under the eyes; the frontal sinuses are above the eyes; the ethmoidal sinuses are between the eyes and the sphenoi ...
with coronal reconstruction (right) and axial planning data (left).
File:Blausen 0104 Brain x-secs SectionalPlanes.png, Sectional Planes of the Brain
File:Coronal and sagittal views of identical twins.png, Identical twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...
s at a gestational age
In obstetrics, gestational age is a measure of the age of a pregnancy which is taken from the beginning of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP), or the corresponding age of the gestation as estimated by a more accurate method if available. Su ...
of 15 weeks, shown in coronal and sagittal plane, respectively
File:Sagital Vs Coronal.png, Sagittal Section (top) Vs. coronal section (bottom) of a mouse brain
See also
*
Anatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
*
Sagittal plane
The sagittal plane (; also known as the longitudinal plane) is an anatomical plane that divides the body into right and left sections. It is perpendicular to the transverse and coronal planes. The plane may be in the center of the body and div ...
*
Transverse plane
The transverse plane (also known as the horizontal plane, axial plane and transaxial plane) is an anatomical plane that divides the body into superior and inferior sections. It is perpendicular to the coronal and sagittal planes.
List of c ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Anatomical planes