trypanosome

American  

[trih-pan-uh-sohm, trip-uh-nuh-] / trɪˈpæn əˌsoʊm, ˈtrɪp ə nə- /

noun

1. any minute, flagellate protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma, parasitic in the blood or tissues of humans and other vertebrates, usually transmitted by insects, often causing serious diseases, as African sleeping sickness in humans, and many diseases in domestic animals.

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trypanosome British  

/ ˈtrɪpənəˌsəʊm, ˌtrɪpənəˈsɒmɪk /

noun

1. any parasitic flagellate protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma , which lives in the blood of vertebrates, is transmitted by certain insects, and causes sleeping sickness and certain other diseases

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trypanosome Scientific  

/ trĭ-păn′ə-sōm′ /

1. Any of various parasitic flagellate protozoans of the genus Trypanosoma that can cause serious diseases, such as sleeping sickness. They are transmitted by the bite of certain insects, such as tsetse flies.

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Other Word Forms

• trypanosomal adjective
• trypanosomic adjective

Etymology

Origin of trypanosome

1900–05; < Greek trȳpano- (combining form of trȳ́panon borer) + -some ³

Example Sentences

“If the data stands the test of time, I think this study provides an important update to how we think about African trypanosome infections, particularly with regard to diagnostic approaches,” he wrote.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 23, 2016

Cause of the disease is a trypanosome, protozoon which under the microscope resembles an auger.

From Time Magazine Archive

The African trypanosome parasite that causes it is a distant cousin of the kala-azar protozoan.

From Time Magazine Archive

The cancer-destroying element, they concluded, was not the trypanosome itself but a toxin which it secreted.

From Time Magazine Archive

Similarly, the spread southward of Fertile Crescent domestic animals through Africa was stopped or slowed by climate and disease, especially by trypanosome diseases carried by tsetse flies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond