polypus

Term: polypus

Origin:  Anc Greek πολύποδας/polypodas(=octopus or any similar sea creature)

> πολύ/poly (=many) + πους/pous(=foot) à many feet

Coined : In Ancient Greek the term was reffered to octopus or to any similar mollusc. Later (18^th cen) the term was extended to hydras and sea anemones. The medical sense of the word was coined by   Hippocrates(5^th cen) who was referred to nasal polypus “ Nasal polyps are sacs of phlegm that cause nasal obstruction and deranges the sense of smell” and tried to treat them with Hippocrates used tampoons dipped in honey and pepper .

Definition:

A polyp is an abnormal growth on the surface of a mucous membrane usually in nasal, uterus, colon and larynx.

Comments

In 1741 a Swiss naturalist Abraham Trembley wrote about his observations on sea small animal or plant “organized bodies”. These organisms were previously noticed by Leeuwenhoek in 1702 and he was reffered to them as “animalculum". This period of time René-Antoine Ferchault de R-Aumur stated that these “polyps,” as he called them, were “certainly animals” with the ability of regenarration like the  Lernean Hydra (hydor=water), a water beast with  many-heads with the ability for each head cut off it grew two more. In 1758, Carl Linnaeus used Hydra as a general term for polyps.