Lesion Terminology - Coral Disease & Health Consortium

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Lesion Terminology and Visualization

Lesion Description

Color Change – include corals exhibiting change from their normal pigmentation or lack of pigmentation in tissues, typically exemplified by a white color
Growth Anomaly – include corals exhibiting excessive or apparently uncontrolled growth of skeleton or soft tissues in relation to adjacent polyps on the same colony
Tissue Loss – include corals manifesting absence of tissues with or without intact skeleton
Skeletal Damage – structural change to the skeleton caused by anthropogenic, biological agent or environmental events

Lesion Shape

Annular – of, relating to, or forming a ring
Circular – having the form of a circle
Irregular – lacking perfect symmetry of form: not straight, smooth, even, or regular
Linear – of, relating to, or resembling a line
Oblong – deviating from a square, circular, or spherical form by elongation in one dimension

Lesion Distribution

Coalescing – to grow together
Diffuse – not concentrated or localized
Focal – of, relating to, being, or having a focus
Linear – of, relating to, or resembling a line
Multifocal – arising from or occurring in more than one focus or location

Lesion Location

Apical – situated near the apex or tip of a structure, as in the apical portion of a cell, opposite of basal
Central/Medial – lying or extending in the middleCoalescing – to grow together
Basal/Peripheral – situated near the base of a structure in relation to a specific reference point, opposite of apical

Lesion Edges

Annular – of, relating to, or forming a ring
Distinct – distinguishable to the eye or mind as discrete
Indistinct – not sharply outlined or separable

Lesion Margin

Serpiginous – having a wavy border
Serrated – having a sawlike edge or border
Smooth – having a continuous even surface
Undulating – wavelike in shape

Lesion Relief

Bosselated – marked or covered with small bosses (protuberant parts or bodies)
Exophtic – tending to grow outward beyond the surface epithelium from which it originates
Nodular – of, relating to, characterized by, or occurring in the form of a nodule (a small node, a circumscribed mass of tissue, or knob-like or knotty swelling of tissue)
Umbonate – a rounded elevation

Lesion Assessment

Coral diseases are diagnosed through a tiered process that begins with a field lesion assessment, which describes the gross lesion appearance using the terms listed above without the need for sampling. You can download a field lesion assessment form here. After this initial assessment, it may be possible to to identify a common field name that describes the disease in a particular coral and apply the same terminology to other corals (regardless of species) with similar gross visible signs using the Coral ID Decision Tree.