Decussation refers to the crossing of two or more elements in various fields, including biology, dentistry, botany, religion, and business. Examples include nerve fibers in the brain and eye, tooth enamel rods, leaf arrangements, points of doctrine, and business strategies.
Decussation is a term that is used in various disciplines to identify the incidence of two or more elements that cross each other. The term is used when referring to different biological events as well as in business and religion. In all cases, a decussate is the union of at least two elements at a central point.
A cerebral decussation is a phenomenon in which nerve fibers that are in one lateral portion of the organ cross over with another. The state known as pyramidal decussation has to do with the passage of motor fibers from the brain to the spinal cord and medulla oblongata. The fibers tend to leave the brain in bunches or bundles and cross in the area of the anterior median fissure of the medulla oblongata.
Nerve decussation is a term that often refers to the crossed fibers within an eye. As with the trochlear nerves, there is a crossing of the nerve fibers as they leave the velium. The phenomenon has been observed in both humans and other mammals, fish and reptiles.
Decussation is also a term used in the field of dentistry. In this application the term refers to the paths of the individual rods which are an integral part of the tooth enamel. Since these rods extend from the enamel-dentin junction within the inner layer to the outer layer that resides on the tooth surface, some are likely to cross over. When a cross pattern is noted, it is said that decussates exist within the enamel.
Decussation is also a phenomenon found in the science of botany. When looking at the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem, any pattern in which two or more successive pairs of leaves are perpendicular to each other can aptly be termed decussate. Along with possible arrangements such as whorl, alternation, or whorl, a decussate leaf is a relatively common arrangement.
In matters of religion, the decussates have to do with where specific points of doctrine intersect. The point at which the concepts of faith and works split in two within some Christian traditions could aptly be referred to as a point of decussation. At that juncture, the two concepts come together and are seen as two parts of a whole rather than separate ideologies or beliefs.
Although rarely used, decussation can also refer to a business strategy in which one seeks to consolidate a position by crossing two opposing forces. Within this strategy, opposing forces begin to engage with each other, rather than focusing their attention on the third. This leaves the third party free to covertly go ahead with its plans without any direct opposition, as the other parties are now crossed over with each other.
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