Parallel

Examples of Parallel in the following topics:

• How Skeletal Muscles Are Named

  • The anatomical arrangement of skeletal muscle fascicles can be described as parallel, convergent, pennate, or sphincter.
  • Parallel muscles are characterized by fascicles that run parallel to one another, and contraction of these muscle groups acts as an extension of the contraction of a single muscle fiber.
  • Parallel muscles can be divided into fusiform and non-fusiform types based on their shape.
  • The biceps brachii is an example of a  fusiform parallel muscle, and is responsible for flexing the forearm.
  • Fascicles pull on the tendon at an angle, thus not moving as far at the parallel muscles during a contraction.

• Serial and Parallel Processing

  • Serial memory processing compares a memory to a target stimulus, while parallel processing carries out multiple operations simultaneously.
  • This is usually contrasted against parallel memory processing, which is the act of attending to and processing all items simultaneously.
  • Parallel processing is the ability to carry out multiple operations or tasks simultaneously.
  • The term is used in the contexts of human cognition, particularly in the ability of the brain to simultaneously process incoming stimuli and in parallel computing by machines.
  • Parallel processing is the ability of the brain to simultaneously process incoming stimuli of differing quality.

• Functions of the Cerebellum in Integrating Movements

  • In the human cerebellum, information from 200 million mossy fiber inputs is expanded to 40 billion granule cells, whose parallel fiber outputs then converge onto 15 million Purkinje cells.
  • Different modules share input from mossy fibers and parallel fibers, but in other respects they appear to function independently.
  • The synapses between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells, and the synapses between mossy fibers and deep nuclear cells, are both susceptible to modification of their strength.
  • In a single cerebellar module, input from as many as a billion parallel fibers converges onto a group of less than 50 deep nuclear cells, and the influence of each parallel fiber on those nuclear cells is adjustable.
  • As the illustration on the right shows, Purkinje cell dendritic trees are flattened in a way that aligns with the microzone length, and parallel fibers cross the microzones at right angles.

• Modulation of Movement by the Cerebellum

  • The surface of the cerebellum is covered with finely spaced parallel grooves, in striking contrast to the broad irregular convolutions of the cerebral cortex.
  • These parallel grooves conceal the fact that the cerebellum is actually a continuous thin layer of tissue (the cerebellar cortex), tightly folded in the style of an accordion.
  • It receives input from thousands of parallel fibers, each individually very weak.
  • Observations of long-term depression in parallel fiber inputs have provided support for theories of this type, but their validity remains controversial.
  • The influence of each parallel fiber on nuclear cells is adjustable.

• Functions of the Cerebellum

  • This neural divergence is followed by parallel fiber outputs that converge onto 15 million Purkinje cells.
  • Due to their longitudinal alignment, the approximately 1000 Purkinje cells belonging to a microzone may receive input via neural convergence from as many as 100 million parallel fibers.
  • Plasticity: The synapses between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells, and between mossy fibers and deep nuclear cells are both susceptible to modification of their strength.
  • In a single cerebellar module, input from as many as a billion parallel fibers converge onto a group of less than 50 deep nuclear cells, and the influence of each parallel fiber on those nuclear cells is adjustable.

• Body Planes and Sections

  • The midsagittal (median) plane is in the midline through the center of the body, and all other sagittal planes are parallel to it.
  • It is typically a horizontal plane through the center of the body and is parallel to the ground.
  • A longitudinal plane is any plane perpendicular to the transverse plane, while parasaggital planes are parallel to the saggital plane.

• Somatic Sensory Pathways to the Cerebellum

  • It is part of the somatosensory system and runs in parallel with the dorsal spinocerebellar tract.
  • It is part of the somatosensory system and runs in parallel with the ventral spinocerebellar tract.

• Ischium

  • Two indentations run parallel to the spine, superiorly the greater sciatic notch and inferiorly the lesser sciatic notch, through which key nervous and vascular vessels pass.

• Veins of the Upper Limbs

  • The brachial vein runs from the elbow up to the shoulder parallel to the brachial artery.

• Abdominal Aorta

  • The abdominal aorta runs parallel to the inferior vena cava, which is located just to the right of the abdominal aorta.