Trypanosome, << TRIHP uh nuh sohm or trih PAN uh sohm, >> is a microscopic single-celled organism. Trypanosomes live as parasites in the blood, spinal fluid, and tissues of human beings and other vertebrates (animals with backbones). Some trypanosomes are parasites in plants. Different species (kinds) cause African sleeping sickness; South American trypanosomiasis, also called Chagas disease; and nagana, an African disease of animals. A trypanosome is long and thin, with a whiplike extension called a flagellum at one end. It also has a thin, waving undulating membrane down the length of its body. Many trypanosomes spend part of their life cycle inside certain insects.
