Wikipedia
In neuroanatomy, the corona radiata is a white matter sheet that continues ventrally as the internal capsule and dorsally as the centrum ovale. This sheet of both ascending and descending axons carries most of the neural traffic from and to the cerebral cortex. The corona radiata is associated with the corticospinal tract, the corticopontine tract, and the corticobulbar tract.
The corona radiata is the innermost layer of the cumulus oophorus and is directly adjacent to the zona pellucida, the outer protective layer of the ovum. Its main purpose in many animals is to supply vital proteins to the cell. It is formed by follicle cells adhering to the oocyte before it leaves the ovarian follicle, and originates from the squamous granulosa cells present at the primordial stage of follicular development. The corona radiata is formed when the granulosa cells enlarge and become cuboidal, which occurs during the transition from the primordial to primary stage. These cuboidal granulosa cells, also known as the granulosa radiata, form more layers throughout the maturation process, and remain attached to the zona pellucida after the ovulation of the Graafian follicle. For fertilization to occur, sperm cells rely on hyaluronidase (an enzyme found in the acrosome of spermatozoa) to disperse the corona radiata from the zona pellucida of the secondary (ovulated) oocyte, thus permitting entry into the perivitelline space and allowing contact between the sperm cell and the nucleus of the oocyte. It takes the secretions of dozens of sperm to weaken the layer enough for one sperm to penetrate.
Usage examples of "corona radiata".
The only evidence of the cell's earlier rude aspiration from its developing follicle were the ragged remains of its corona radiata of granulosa cells adherent to the comparatively dense envelope called the zona pellucida.