A polyp is a projecting growth of tissue from a surface in the body, usually a mucous membrane. . Medusa (biology) - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with: Medusa bud. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medusa%20bud. Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her; he did so while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. World Register of Marine Species. From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medusa_(biology)&oldid=6515477, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about medusa. The information of medicine and health contained in the site are of a general nature and purpose which is purely informative and for this reason may not replace in any case, the council of a doctor or a qualified entity legally to the profession. Copyright HarperCollins Publishers Derived forms From the blood that spurted from her neck sprang Chrysaor and Pegasus, her two sons by Poseidon. Why did Athena punish Medusa and not Poseidon? Facts about Hephaestus Hephaestus was the only ugly god among perfectly beautiful immortals. Definition. The mechanism behind this type of negative feedback control is descr.. Their tentacles are long and thin and covered in venomous stinging cells (known as nematocysts). Jellyfish reproduction involves several different stages. Tighty-whities or loosey-goosey? This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Both are described below. 15.2: Sponges and Cnidarians - Biology LibreTexts [28], Even in contemporary pop culture, Medusa has become largely synonymous with feminine rage. "And she's not deadly. ); typically four in number, they run in a radial direction to the edge 2 For other variations of the medusa, often of importance for systematic classification, see Hydromedusae and Scyphomedusae. Types of Polyp Polyps as a Life Cycle Cnidarians, or jellyfish, anemones, and coral have special cells on the surface of their tentacles called nematocysts. In the adult, or medusa, stage of a jellyfish, they can reproduce sexually by releasing sperm and eggs into the water, forming a planula. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. Today it is more commonly known as the immortal jellyfish. [17][13], The legend of Perseus beheading Medusa means, specifically, that "the Hellenes overran the goddess's chief shrines" and "stripped her priestesses of their Gorgon masks", the latter being apotropaic faces worn to frighten away the profane. I love to write and share science related Stuff Here on my Website. One example is that of the flag and emblem of Sicily, together with the three-legged trinacria. -sae / -s; -s; -z; -z / or -sas ) Zool. Medusa | Myth & Story | Britannica The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Libya, where Herodotus had said the Berbers originated her myth as part of their religion. The genus was first described in 1816 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in his book Histoire Naturelle des Animaux sans Vertbres (Natural History of Invertebrates). 2 A).The circular canal bears the tentacle bulbs, which continually replenish the tentacles. The medusa form of Hydrozoans are known as hydromedusae. In 1940, Sigmund Freud's "Das Medusenhaupt (Medusa's Head)" was published posthumously. Word origin: from its likeness to the tentacled head of Medusa in Greek mythology Sessile structures are called polyps while the swimming forms are called medusa. The medusoid body is bell- or umbrella-shaped. This page was last edited on 5 July 2023, at 17:49. Her appearance was so hideous that those who looked directly at her were turned to stone. Clytia jellyfish are tetraradial, with 4 gonads each connected via radial canals to the manubrium (mouth) in the center and the circular canal around the periphery (Fig. Members of the phylum Cnidaria have two different forms of individuals or zooids (polyp and medusa). Medusa, in Greek mythology, a Gorgon who turned men to stone. Source : SFU Text file : http://school.gogpg.com/Portals/1/Assess%20Well/Example%20Sampling%20Domains-Curriculum%20Specific.xls, Source web site :http://school.gogpg.com/, Author : not indicated on the source document of the above text. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 445: 21-28 . The cover featured the image of the Gorgon Medusa by Froggi Lupton, which the editors on the inside cover explained "can be a map to guide us through our terrors, through the depths of our anger into the sources of our power as women. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Medusa | definition of Medusa by Medical dictionary Medusa Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. A tough, multilayered structure secreted by the mantle. Perseus eventually slew her See also Pegasus 1 Collins English Dictionary. Term. It was said that anyone who looked directly at her was immediately turned to stone. A jelly-like substance called mesoglea lies between the outer and inner layers of the body. Polyps can develop in the: colon and rectum. Other Cnidarians such as hydrozoans have both polyp and medusa stages in their life cycle. noun, plural: medusae For When 'Lowdown Crook' Isn't Specific Enough, You can't shut them up, but you can label them, A simple way to keep them apart. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. (Most of the time.). While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. What is the difference between Medusa and jellyfish? Furthermore, the venomous vipers of the Sahara, in the Argonautica 4.1515, Ovid's Metamorphoses 4.770 and Lucan's Pharsalia 9.820, were said to have grown from spilt drops of her blood. Hear a word and type it out. Synonym (s): head of Medusa. Athena then punished her for this violation, by turning her into the monstrous, stony-glanced creature that we know. Obelia throughout its life cycle takes two forms: polyp and medusa. "Medusa's Head". the free-swimming body form in the life cycle of a jellyfish or other coelenterate, usu. Difference Between Polyp and Medusa - Biology Reader "[19] In this perspective the "ravishingly beautiful" Medusa (see above) is the mother remembered in innocence; before the mythic truth of castration dawns on the subject. Primitive life likely possessed the elemen.. All Rights Reserved. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Aurelia is a genus of scyphozoan jellyfish, commonly called moon jellies.There are currently 25 accepted species and many that are still not formally described.. Medusa is the adult and sexual form whereas Polyp is juvenile and asexual form. "[13] In the Odyssey xi, Homer does not specifically mention the Gorgon Medusa: Lest for my daring Persephone the dread, This page was last changed on 25 April 2019, at 05:48. According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. Graduated from ENSAT (national agronomic school of Toulouse) in plant sciences in 2018, I pursued a CIFRE doctorate under contract with SunAgri and INRAE in Avignon between 2019 and 2022. Another example is the coat of arms of Dohalice village in the Czech Republic. During this stage, which can last for several months or years, asexual reproduction occurs. Definition noun, plural: medusae ( zoology) The freely-swimming, umbrella- or disk-shaped gelatinous form of Cnidarians (as opposed to the polyp form) Supplement Cnidarians exhibit two body forms: the freely swimming medusa and the sessile polyp forms. Supplement Although no earlier version mention this, ancient depictions of Medusa as a beautiful maiden instead of a horrid monster predate Ovid. Thats because jellyfish doesnt technically have mouths or anuses, they just have one hole for both in things and out things, and for biologists, thats kind of a big deal. A story of victim blaming, one that she says sounds all too familiar in a current American context. Perseus then flew to Seriphos, where his mother was being forced into marriage with the king, Polydectes, who was turned into stone by the head. medusa, in zoology, one of two principal body types occurring in members of the invertebrate animal phylum Cnidaria. Medusa, in Greek mythology, the most famous of the monster figures known as Gorgons. Medusa Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster 2001-2023 BiologyOnline. The digestive cavity consists of the gastrovascular cavity and radiating canals which extend toward the margin; these canals may be simple or branching, and vary in number from few to many. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. The following texts are the property of their respective authors and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to share for free to students, teachers and users of the Web their texts will used only for illustrative educational and scientific purposes only. Hephaestus was born deformed and was cast out of heaven by one or both of his parents when they noticed that he was imperfect. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Several early classics scholars interpreted the myth of Medusa as a quasi-historical "based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style, etc., in the past",[16] or "sublimated" memory of an actual invasion. hydrostatic skeleton. Cnidarian | Definition, Life Cycle, Classes, & Facts | Britannica She was lovely, according to the poemuntil she was raped in Athenas temple by Poseidon. Learn a new word every day. Polyp And Medusa | Encyclopedia.com The phylum Cnidaria is made up of four classes: Hydrozoa . Medusae may have many tentacles with which they catch their prey. Shes often viewed as a strong figure. A muscular organ that is used for locomotion and takes a variety of forms depending on the animal. Species of the Hydrozoa class exist in medusa form or jellyfish. Jane Ellen Harrison argues that "her potency only begins when her head is severed, and that potency resides in the head; she is in a word a mask with a body later appended the basis of the Gorgoneion is a cultus object, a ritual mask misunderstood. Examples of "Medusa" in a Sentence | YourDictionary.com He found it, in fact, on the ocean floor. In some species, medusae are a phase in the life cycle that alternates with a polypoid phase. Jack London uses Medusa in this way in his novel The Mutiny of the Elsinore:[36], I cannot help remembering a remark of De Casseres. This cure is, indeed, fiction. [11], In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry Perseus's mother. There are many difference seen in polyp and medusa based on their external as well as internal features: 1. These animals carry a nerve net but have no brain . 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved. Medusa - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics The alternate form is the polyp. Polyp - Definition, Types and Causes | Biology Dictionary When Medusa had an affair with the sea god Poseidon, Athena punished her. Solution Medusa: In cnidarians or coelenterates, medusa is a mobile stage with a muscular bell that contracts. It is immediately obvious that the Gorgons are not really three but one + two. She's beautiful and she's laughing. Numerous analyses have made us familiar with the occasion for this: it occurs when a boy, who has hitherto been unwilling to believe the threat of castration, catches sight of the female genitals, probably those of an adult, surrounded by hair, and essentially those of his mother. The inclusion of Medusa in the center implies the protection of the goddess Athena, who wore the Gorgon's likeness on her aegis, as said above. Can jellyfish unlock the secret of immortality? What is the ICD-10-CM code for skin rash? She was usually represented as a winged female creature having a head of hair consisting of snakes; unlike the Gorgons, she was sometimes represented as very beautiful. Sometimes, people bathing in the ocean are touched by a medusa. InUnited States copyright law, fair use is adoctrinethat permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. In classical sources, in fact, shes not always monstrous. Etruscan, from Italy, 6th century BC. The body of medusa is bell or umbrella shaped. 28.2C: Class Scyphozoa - Biology LibreTexts a saucer-shaped or dome-shaped, free-swimming jellyfish or hydra. Noted by Marjorie J. Milne in discussing a. Freud, Sigmund (Summer 2017). Medusae, (sexual zooids). The content on this website is for information only. Overview Medusa, the daughter of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto, was the most feared of the Gorgons. dome-shaped with tentacles. If you are the author of the text above and you not agree to share your knowledge for teaching, research, scholarship (for fair use as indicated in the United States copyrigh low) please send us an e-mail and we will remove your text quickly. head of Medusa - Synonym (s): caput Medusae. Term. Anyone who locked gaze with Medusa was turned into stone. Classic Medusa, in contrast, is an Oedipal/libidinous symptom. Their genealogy is shared with other sisters, the Graeae, as in Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, which places both trios of sisters far off "on Kisthene's dreadful plain": Near them their sisters three, the Gorgons, winged "From Gorgon and Ceto, Sthenno, Euryale, Medusa". Compare, WHILE bathing, Antinous was seen by Minerva, who was so enamoured of his beauty that, all armed as she happened to be, she descended from Olympus to woo him; but, unluckily displaying her shield, with the head of, Seeing this, Maggie lingered at a distance looking like a small, gunboat "Myrtle," and the story of their terrible privations has become quite as well known as the far more horrible ", Forgive me, noble lady, and retire to your apartment, and do not, by any further declaration of your passion, compel me to show myself more ungrateful; and if, of the love you bear me, you should find that there is anything else in my power wherein I can gratify you, provided it be not love itself, demand it of me; for I swear to you by that sweet absent enemy of mine to grant it this instant, though it be that you require of me a lock of, Rawdon Crawley meanwhile hurried on from Great Gaunt Street, and knocking at the great bronze, The beautiful color became livid, the eyes seemed to throw out sparks of hell fire, the brows were wrinkled as though the folds of flesh were the coils of, Here, too, the bride's aunt and next relation; a widowed female of a, "What are you screaming for, you little fool?" In so doing, we unravel a familiar narrative thread: In Western culture, strong women have historically been imagined as threats requiring male conquest and control, and Medusa herself has long been the go-to figure for those seeking to demonize female authority. 1. Examples of fair use include commentary, search engines, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. [21][22][23][24] The name "Medusa" itself is often used in ways not directly connected to the mythological figure but to suggest the gorgon's abilities or to connote malevolence; despite her origins as a beauty, the name in common usage "came to mean monster. Medusa. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medusa. is that medusa is (zoology) special form that cnidarians may turn into while jellyfish is (zoology) almost transparent aquatic being; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance. The Roman author Ovid describes the mortal Medusa as a beautiful maiden seduced by Poseidon in a temple of Athena. medusa, in zoology, one of two principal body types occurring in members of the invertebrate animal phylum Cnidaria. Related to Medusa: Greek mythology Medusa Regional drug slang for an inhalant. Such a sacrilege attracted the goddess wrath, and she punished Medusa by turning her hair to snakes. If the polyp shape is turned upside down, it becomes the medusa shape of the jellyfish. Corals, sea anemones and jellyfish belong to a group of animals called cnidarians. According to Ovid, in northwest Africa, Perseus flew past the Titan Atlas, who stood holding the sky aloft, and transformed Atlas into a stone when Atlas tried to attack him. ADW: Aurelia: INFORMATION I am currently continuing at SunAgri as an R&D engineer. Delivered to your inbox! ), is a Lancer-class Servant summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order. In some species, polyps are a phase in the life cycle that alternates with a medusoid phase. Her hair of snakes and reptilian skin are symbolic of the natural cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Term. These forms are dependent upon nutritional content of the living environment. Polyps appear more or less cylindrical, whereas medusae appear umbrella-shaped. Figure 28.2 A. "Medusa has since haunted Western imagination, materializing whenever male authority feels threatened by female agency," writes Johnston. The defining characteristic of this class is that the medusa is the prominent stage in the life cycle, although there is a polyp stage present. The medusa appears like an umbrella (others are disk in shape) with trailing tentacles on the lower surface (compare polyp). Post the Definition of medusa bud to Facebook, Share the Definition of medusa bud on Twitter, More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary, Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes. So to get back at him, Athena cursed Medusa so that Poseidon couldnt seduce him anymore. They have a simple body consisting of a central gut cavity surrounded by tentacles. Medusa definition and meaning in biology - larapedia.com ", "The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned Into a Monster", Online version at the Perseus Digital Library, Online version at Harvard University Press, "Medusa in Myth and Literary History" English.uiuc.edu, The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Medusa), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medusa&oldid=1163594596, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles having different image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0. [34][35] In this interpretation of Medusa, attempts to avoid looking into her eyes represent avoiding the ostensibly depressing reality that the universe is meaningless. The three Gorgon sistersMedusa, Stheno, and Euryalewere all children of the ancient marine deities Phorcys (or "Phorkys") and his sister Ceto (or "Keto"), chthonic monsters from an archaic world. Polyp and medusa body shapes - Corals, anemones and jellyfish - Te Ara A body form of certain cnidarians such as jellyfish, consisting of a dome-shaped structure with a mouth underneath surrounded by tentacles, and in most species constituting the free-swimming sexual stage of the organism. ~[] - The free-swimming form of animals that can also exist as polyps, attached to the sea floor. medusa bud: [noun] one of the buds of a hydroid destined to develop into a gonophore or medusa. Corrections? Beth Seelig chooses to interpret Medusa's punishment as resulting from rape rather than the common interpretation of having willingly consented in Athena's temple, as an outcome of the goddess' unresolved conflicts with her own father Zeus. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Mostly marine animals, the cnidarians include the corals, hydras, jellyfish, Portuguese men-of-war, sea anemones, sea pens, sea whips, and sea fans. [6], In a late version of the Medusa myth, by the Roman poet Ovid,[7] Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, but when Neptune (the Roman equivalent of the Greek Poseidon) had sex with her in Minerva's temple (Minerva being the Roman equivalent of the Greek Athena),[8] Minerva punished Medusa by transforming her beautiful hair into horrible snakes. Compare with medusa.2. [27], Elana Dykewomon's 1976 collection of lesbian stories and poems, They Will Know Me by My Teeth, features a drawing of a Gorgon on its cover. All the information in our site are for educational uses. Polyp or Hydranth: Medusa - definition of medusa by The Free Dictionary Available from, Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). . "The Laugh of the Medusa" is largely a call to arms, urging women to reclaim their identity through writing as she rejects the patriarchal society of Western culture. The jellyfish has six eye clusters. Definition They throop through their manus. Johnston goes on to say that as Medusa has been repeatedly compared to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, she proves her merit as an icon, finding relevance even in modern politics. Stephen Wilk, author of Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon, questioned Medusa's enduring status among the feminist movement. Medusae vary from bell-shaped to the shape of a thin disk, scarcely convex above and only slightly concave below. Tighty-whities or loosey-goosey? The difference between polyp and medusa relies upon motility and shape. "Medusa", p. 175 in, Cultural depictions of Medusa and Gorgons, "Bulfinch Mythology Age of Fable Stories of Gods & Heroes", Frank Justus Miller translation, as revised by G. P. Goold, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, "The Rape of Medusa in the Temple of Athena: Aspects of Triangulation", "Endless the Medusa: a feminist reading of Medusan imagery and the myth of the hero in Eudora Welty's novels. The American evolutionary biologist Paulyn Cartwright gives the following general definition: Typically, medusozoan cnidarians have a pelagic, predatory jellyfish stage in their life cycle; staurozoans are the exceptions [as they are . Elizabeth Johnston's November 2016 Atlantic essay called Medusa the original 'Nasty Woman.' From Hades should send up an awful monster's grisly head. 1. Medusae | definition of medusae by Medical dictionary Aurelia (cnidarian) - Wikipedia Obelia - Structure, Diagram, Life Cycle | Solved Question - Toppr Medusa could have been a very prototypical goddess of a matriarchal society. Send us feedback about these examples. 2002 Aug;83(Pt 4):895911. A cnidarian in its free-swimming stage. Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. : one of the stinging capsular organelles of the tentacle of a cnidarian (such as a box jellyfish or sea anemone) that contains a coiled, hollow, usually barbed, venomous thread which is discharged especially for catching prey and defending against enemies Each nematocyst contains a spiral-coiled thread tipped with a . This surely illustrates that insects have the selecti.. Each contains four very simple eyes consisting of pigment-filled pits to catch light, and a pair of more complex, lensed eyes. "Only the Gorgon has the savage, threatening appearance to serve as an immediately recognized symbol of rage and a protector of women's secrets," wrote Wilk. Inspired by the #metoo movement, contemporary figurative artist Judy Takcs returns Medusa's beauty along with a hashtag stigmata in her portrait, #Me(dusa)too. Unfortunately, in the real world treating a jellyfish sting by urinating on it may actually cause someone in Monicas situation even more pain, rather than relief. sa / mdos; -z / n. (pl. Segen's Medical Dictionary. Turritopsis dohrnii - Wikipedia caput Medusae - (1) varicose veins radiating from the umbilicus; - (2) dilated ciliary arteries girdling the corneoscleral limbus in rubeosis iridis. From Medusa-Truth he makes an appeal to Maya-Lie.". Cnidarian morphology: Cnidarians have two distinct body plans, the medusa (a) and the polyp (b). Medusa | definition of Medusa by Medical dictionary According to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, preferable genes are favored by nature in the gene pool, and .. a free-swimming sexual form of a coelenterate such as a jellyfish, typically having an umbrella-shaped body with stinging tentacles around the edge. There have been some deaths after severe medusa stings. [31], Feminist theorist Hlne Cixous famously tackled the myth in her essay "The Laugh of the Medusa." Adaptation, in biology and ecology, refers to the process or trait through which organisms or the populations in a habit.. Meet some of New Zealand's unique fauna, including endemic insects, frogs, reptiles, birds, and mammals, and investigate.. Earth was created around 4.5 billion years ago and life began not long after. OpenStax OpenStax The kingdom of animals is informally divided into invertebrate animals, those without a backbone, and vertebrate animals, those with a backbone. The terror of Medusa is thus a terror of castration that is linked to the sight of something. . Medusozoa - Wikipedia The key difference between polyp and medusa is that polyp is a fixed, cylindrical structure, representing the asexual stage and medusa is a free swimming, umbrella-like structure, representing the sexual stage. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon. Members of this species range from 2 to 40 cm in length, but the largest . Medusae may have many tentacles with which they catch their prey. also medusas [New Latin, from Latin] : the typically free-swimming, bell-shaped, usually sexually-reproducing, solitary or colonial form of a cnidarian (such as an obelia, box jellyfish, or sea nettle) in which nematocyst-studded tentacles arise and hang down from the margin of the nearly transparent, gelatinous bell see jellyfish medusan