trypanosoma
noun
                                                                                                                            
                                                            try·pano·so·ma
                    
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                  tri-ˌpan-ə-ˈsō-mə 
                                                      
                                                          
            1
                    
                                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                                      
                
                    
2
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  Merriam-Webster unabridged




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