trypanosoma

noun

try·pano·so·ma tri-ˌpan-ə-ˈsō-mə

capitalized : the type genus of the family Trypanosomatidae comprising kinetoplastid flagellates that as adults are elongated and somewhat spindle-shaped, have a posteriorly arising flagellum which passes forward at the margin of an undulating membrane and emerges near the anterior end of the body as a short free flagellum, and are parasitic in the blood or rarely the tissues of vertebrates, that following development in the digestive tract of a blood-sucking invertebrate and usually an insect pass ultimately to the mouthparts or salivary structures where they may be transmitted into a new vertebrate host bitten by the invertebrate host, and that are responsible for various serious diseases (as Chagas disease, dourine, nagana, sleeping sickness, and surra) of humans and domestic animals