trypanosome

[ trih-pan-uh-sohm, trip-uh-nuh- ]

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.

trypanosome

/ 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

trypanosome

/ 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.

Derived Forms

• ˌtrypanoˈsomal, adjective

Other Words From

• try·pano·somal try·pan·o·som·ic [trih-pan-, uh, -, som, -ik, trip-, uh, -n, uh, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trypanosome¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of trypanosome¹

C19: from New Latin Trypanosoma , from Greek trupanon borer + sōma body

Example Sentences

The initiative aimed to set up a network of laboratories across the continent to explore the relative roles of environment and genes in diseases that plague Africans, such as HIV/AIDS, trypanosome infections, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.

From Science Magazine

Sadd found that the offspring of bumblebee mothers that had been exposed to a bacterial pathogen were more susceptible to a trypanosome parasite than were bees that had not been primed against the parasite7.

From Nature

The lab confirmed that the trypanosome could be seen under the microscope, the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, transmitted from one person to another through a bite from the tsetse fly, which feeds on human blood.

From The Guardian

The parasite that causes sleeping sickness, trypanosome, is seen here magnified under a microscope.

From The Guardian

Figure 1 | Coat switching in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. a, The trypanosome parasite, which causes sleeping sickness, evades destruction by the immune system by varying over time the version of a glycoprotein called VSG that coats its surface.

From Nature