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Coronal plane

The coronal plane, also known as the frontal plane, is a vertical anatomical plane that divides the body or any of its parts into anterior (ventral or front) and posterior (dorsal or back) portions, running parallel to the long axis of the body from side to side.^[1] This plane is one of the three primary cardinal planes in human anatomy, alongside the sagittal and transverse planes, and is essential for standardizing descriptions of body orientation, structure, and movement.^[2] The term "coronal" derives from the Latin word corona, meaning "crown,"^[3] reflecting its alignment with the coronal suture of the skull, which separates the frontal and parietal bones.^[4] In anatomical and clinical contexts, the coronal plane facilitates precise localization of organs, tissues, and pathologies by providing a front-to-back sectional view, which is particularly useful in dissecting or visualizing the brain, where slices resemble those of a loaf of bread cut perpendicular to its length.^[5] It also defines movements such as abduction and adduction, where limbs deviate away from or toward the body's midline in this plane.^[6] Medical imaging techniques, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), routinely employ coronal plane reconstructions to assess structures like the brain, spine, and cardiovascular system, offering detailed anterior-posterior perspectives that complement axial and sagittal views for comprehensive diagnosis. For instance, in neuroimaging, coronal sections reveal key features of cerebral hemispheres and midline structures.^[7] This plane's utility extends to surgical planning and biomechanical analysis, ensuring standardized communication among healthcare professionals.^[8]

Anatomical Fundamentals

Definition

The coronal plane, also known as the frontal plane, is a vertical plane in human anatomy that divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) portions.^[1] This plane runs from side to side, perpendicular to the sagittal plane, which divides the body into left and right sections.^[6] As one of the principal anatomical planes used for spatial orientation, it provides a standardized way to describe the location and relationships of body structures relative to the front and back.^[9] The definition of the coronal plane is established within the context of the standard anatomical position, in which the body is imagined standing upright with the feet together and parallel, arms at the sides, palms facing forward, and the head and eyes directed straight ahead.^[8] In this posture, the coronal plane slices through the body vertically, separating ventral (anterior) from dorsal (posterior) aspects, and it assumes the body's neutral alignment without rotation or flexion. This positional reference ensures consistency in anatomical descriptions across medical and scientific contexts. Geometrically, the coronal plane is an imaginary flat surface that extends through the entire body, oriented parallel to the coronal suture—the fibrous joint between the frontal and parietal bones of the skull.^[10] This alignment reflects its naming origin from the skull's structure while applying uniformly to the whole body, facilitating precise sectional views in both theoretical and applied anatomy.^[11]

Body Orientation

The coronal plane is a vertical plane that divides the body into anterior and posterior sections.^[12] This plane aligns with the human body's standard anatomical position, where the body stands upright with arms at the sides and palms facing forward, positioning the plane parallel to the coronal suture of the skull.^[12] The coronal suture, a fibrous joint separating the frontal bone from the two parietal bones, runs transversely across the cranium, and the plane's orientation mirrors this structure to facilitate consistent anatomical descriptions.^[13] In relation to the median plane, which passes vertically through the body's midline to divide it into left and right halves, the coronal plane is oriented perpendicularly, intersecting at right angles along the body's longitudinal axis.^[14] This perpendicular alignment means that coronal planes are offset from the midline, resulting in divisions of the body into unequal anterior and posterior portions unless the plane is positioned symmetrically through the body's center in idealized views.^[14] In veterinary anatomy, particularly for quadrupeds, the coronal plane is adapted to the animal's horizontal posture, where it divides the body into dorsal (toward the back) and ventral (toward the belly) sections, effectively replacing "posterior" with "dorsal" to reflect the quadrupedal orientation.^[15]

Resulting Divisions

The coronal plane divides the body into an anterior compartment, encompassing the front portion, and a posterior compartment, comprising the back portion, when the body is in the standard anatomical position with arms at the sides and palms facing forward.^[16] The anterior compartment includes superficial structures such as the chest wall, formed by the sternum, ribs, and pectoral muscles, which provide protection and support for underlying organs. Deeper within this compartment lie key abdominal and thoracic organs positioned forward relative to the plane, including the anterior aspects of the heart, which rests deep to the sternum and anterior to the vertebral column, as well as portions of the lungs and abdominal viscera like the liver and stomach. In contrast, the posterior compartment contains the back's muscular and skeletal framework, such as the erector spinae muscles that maintain posture along the spine, and the vertebral column itself, which forms the central axis of the body. Posterior organs, including the kidneys, are situated retroperitoneally against the posterior abdominal wall, dorsal to the coronal plane and protected by surrounding musculature.^[17] These divisions facilitate the description of layered anatomy within each compartment, distinguishing superficial elements like skin and subcutaneous tissues from deeper structures such as viscera and neurovascular bundles, thereby aiding precise localization in anatomical studies.^[18]

Etymology and History

Linguistic Origins

The term "coronal" derives from the Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "garland," a reference to the crown-like configuration of the coronal suture that spans the superior aspect of the skull, connecting the frontal and parietal bones.^[19]^[20] In anatomical nomenclature, the "coronal plane" denotes a vertical plane dividing the body into anterior and posterior sections, drawing on descriptions of the coronal suture's morphology.^[20] This terminology is synonymous with "frontal plane" in English-language anatomy, where the terms are used interchangeably to describe the same division; "frontal" highlights the plane's relation to the front of the body, while "coronal" evokes the suture's crown shape, with linguistic variations in other languages—such as the prevalent "plan frontal" in French—reflecting differing emphases on positional or structural analogies.^[20]^[21]

Historical Usage

The concept of the coronal plane traces its origins to early anatomical descriptions of cranial structures, particularly the coronal suture, which served as a foundational reference for later planar divisions of the body. Medieval anatomist Avicenna (Ibn Sina), in his Canon of Medicine (c. 1025), described the coronal suture as "an arc in whose center a perpendicular line has been set up," emphasizing its transverse orientation across the cranium. In 1543, Andreas Vesalius, in his seminal work De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem, provided detailed illustrations of the skull's sutures, including the coronal suture, building on earlier descriptions and laying essential groundwork for understanding vertical planes that bisect the body into anterior and posterior sections.^[22] By the 19th century, anatomical terminology became more standardized in major texts, facilitating precise descriptions of body sections in surgical and descriptive anatomy. This built on earlier continental traditions and culminated in international efforts, such as the 1895 Basel Nomina Anatomica, which helped establish consistent planar nomenclature across medical education and practice.^[23] In the 20th century, the coronal plane gained prominence in radiological standards following Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895, as early radiographic projections—such as anteroposterior views—aligned with this plane to visualize internal structures in a front-to-back orientation. Subsequent developments in cross-sectional imaging further refined its application, integrating the coronal plane into standardized protocols for diagnostic evaluation, though these advancements emphasized its utility in projecting anatomical divisions without altering the foundational definitions established earlier.

Medical and Imaging Applications

Diagnostic Imaging

In diagnostic imaging, the coronal plane facilitates front-to-back slicing of the body in both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT), dividing structures into anterior and posterior compartments for enhanced visualization. This orientation is particularly effective for assessing the brain, where it reveals midline structures and temporal lobe pathologies; the spine, enabling evaluation of alignment and neural foramina; and the pelvis, aiding in the depiction of gynecologic or urologic anomalies.^[24]^[25] Acquisition of coronal images in MRI often involves direct plane selection during scanning, utilizing sequences like T1- and T2-weighted imaging to highlight soft tissue contrasts in the brain and spine. In CT, coronal views are predominantly generated via software-based multiplanar reconstruction from isotropic axial datasets, minimizing the need for specialized positioning while allowing volumetric coverage of the pelvis and spine. Patients are routinely positioned supine, with the head stabilized using foam pads or restraints to align the coronal plane perpendicular to the scanner's magnetic field or X-ray beam and reduce artifacts from movement.^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29] Coronal plane imaging offers distinct advantages in detecting anterior-posterior abnormalities, such as tumors that traverse this dimension in the brain or pelvis, by providing orthogonal perspectives that complement axial views and improve lesion conspicuity. For instance, in spinal assessments, coronal reconstructions better delineate paraspinal masses or degenerative changes extending front-to-back, enhancing diagnostic confidence without additional radiation in CT.^[30]^[31]

Clinical Procedures

In clinical procedures, the coronal plane serves as a critical reference for guiding precise interventions, often informed by preoperative imaging to map anatomical structures.^[32] In neurosurgery, the coronal plane informs the planning of scalp incisions for accessing intracranial tumors, enabling surgeons to align craniotomies with midline structures for optimal exposure during resections. For instance, a standard coronal incision, extending from ear to ear across the scalp, facilitates bifrontal craniotomies for tumors in the frontal lobes or midline, allowing safe removal while minimizing damage to overlying tissues.^[33]^[34] This approach is particularly valuable in craniofacial resections for skull base malignancies, where osteotomies are extended in the coronal plane to isolate and excise tumors anterior to key fissures like the superior orbital fissure.^[35] Orthopedic surgeries, such as total hip and knee replacements, rely on coronal plane alignment to restore mechanical balance and ensure proper load distribution across the joint. In total hip arthroplasty, positioning the acetabular component involves assessing coronal alignment to achieve neutral abductor muscle tension, which reduces the risk of postoperative dislocation by aligning the cup perpendicular to the pelvic coronal plane.^[36]^[37] Similarly, in total knee arthroplasty, coronal alignment targets a neutral mechanical axis, with femoral and tibial components placed perpendicular to this axis to optimize anterior-posterior stability and prevent varus-valgus deformities.^[38] Radiation therapy utilizes coronal projections to delineate target volumes accurately, facilitating conformal dosing that spares surrounding healthy tissues. Clinicians define gross tumor volumes and clinical target volumes in the coronal plane to account for tumor extent in the superior-inferior and medial-lateral dimensions, as seen in breast cancer treatments where coronal views help contour nodal regions for elective irradiation.^[39] This projection is essential for internal target volume estimation in liver cancers, where coronal imaging integrates motion data to expand margins precisely around the tumor.^[40]

Comparisons and Variations

With Sagittal Plane

The coronal plane, also known as the frontal plane, divides the body into anterior (front) and posterior (back) portions along a vertical orientation, whereas the sagittal plane divides the body into left and right portions along a parallel vertical orientation.^[41]^[41] This fundamental difference in partitioning allows the coronal plane to emphasize anteroposterior relationships, such as those in thoracic or abdominal structures, while the sagittal plane highlights lateral symmetries and asymmetries.^[16]^[16] These two planes are orthogonal to each other, meaning they intersect at a right angle, which facilitates comprehensive three-dimensional reconstruction in medical imaging by providing complementary views alongside the transverse plane.^[16]^[27] In clinical applications, the coronal plane is particularly useful for anteroposterior (AP) views, such as assessing facial symmetry in craniofacial evaluations where deviations are often most evident in this orientation.^[42] Conversely, the sagittal plane excels in visualizing midline structures, like the spinal cord, enabling precise evaluation of longitudinal alignments in neurology and orthopedics.^[43]^[44]

With Transverse Plane

The coronal plane, a vertical plane that divides the body into anterior and posterior sections, contrasts with the transverse plane, which is a horizontal plane dividing the body into superior and inferior sections.^[16]^[45] This fundamental difference in orientation—vertical for the coronal versus horizontal for the transverse—arises from their perpendicular relationship to each other and to the sagittal plane, forming a set of three mutually orthogonal planes essential for comprehensive spatial analysis.^[46] In volumetric imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the coronal and transverse planes are utilized orthogonally to enable multiplanar reconstructions, allowing clinicians to generate detailed three-dimensional views from axial acquisitions typically obtained in the transverse plane.^[27] This setup facilitates the integration of data across planes for accurate anatomical localization, with the transverse plane serving as the primary acquisition orientation in many protocols.^[47] Distinct applications highlight their complementary roles: the coronal plane is particularly valuable for assessing vertical pathologies, such as lower limb deformities, where full-length weight-bearing radiographs in this plane measure alignments like the mechanical axis to identify angular deviations.^[48] In contrast, the transverse plane excels in providing cross-sectional layers for evaluating horizontal structures, as seen in routine abdominal CT scans that delineate organ boundaries and detect intra-abdominal abnormalities like masses or fluid collections.^[49] Together with the sagittal plane, these orientations complete a trio that supports holistic diagnostic imaging.^[50]

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