medusa, in zoology, one of two principal body types occurring in members of the invertebrate animal phylum Cnidaria. It is the typical form of the jellyfish. The medusoid body is bell- or umbrella-shaped. Hanging downward from the centre is a stalklike structure, the manubrium, bearing the mouth at its tip. The mouth opens into the main body cavity, or enteron, which connects with radial canals extending to the outer rim of the bell. The medusa is a free-swimming form; it moves by rhythmic muscular contractions of the bell, providing a slow propulsive action against the water. The other principal body type of the adult cnidarian is the polyp, a stalked, sessile (attached) form. Compare polyp.