  We explore a general diagrammatic framework to understand qudits and their
braiding, especially in its relation to entanglement. This involves
understanding the role of isotopy in interpreting diagrams that implement
entangling gates as well as some standard quantum information protocols. We
give qudit Pauli operators $X,Y,Z$ and comment on their structure, both from an
algebraic and from a diagrammatic point of view. We explain alternative models
for diagrammatic interpretations of qudits and their transformations. We use
our diagrammatic approach to define an entanglement-relay protocol for
long-distance entanglement. Our approach rests on algebraic and topological
relations discovered in the study of planar para algebras. In summary, this
work provides bridges between the new theory of planar para algebras and
quantum information, especially in questions involving entanglement.
