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Coronavirus

Etymology:
Definition:

L. corōna: “crown” + L. vīrus: “poison, slime, venom”


The name refers to the characteristic appearance of virions (the infective form of the virus) by electron microscopy, which have a fringe of large, bulbous surface projections creating an image reminiscent of the solar corona or halo, resembling a crown.


Source: Virology: Coronaviruses. Nature. 1968;220(5168):650. doi: 10.1038/220650b0. PMCID: PMC7086490.

A member of the family Coronaviridae, comprising viruses which infect animals and human beings, and the genome of which consists of a single strand of RNA.


Often the intended sense, since 2020: SARS-CoV-2, the specific coronavirus that causes the infectious disease COVID-19.

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