polyp
Small ‘stalked’ benign tumour, usually found on mucous membrane of the nose or bowels. Intestinal polyps are usually removed, since some have been found to be precursors of cancer.
polyp
After fertilization, the gametes of a jellyfish may be released into the water as larvae (middle right) or retained in a brood pouch. After settling, the larvae change into a sedentary polyp stage (bottom right) similar to that of a coral. More polyps (bottom left) are produced by simple budding. These polyps may divide again to form the so-called ephyra larvae (middle left). These larvae eventually grow into the free-swimming medusa more familiarly known as a jellyfish (top).
| In zoology, the sedentary stage in the life cycle of a coelenterate (such as a coral or jellyfish), the other being the free-swimming medusa. |
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