Etymologia: Trypanosoma

[tri-pan′′o-so′mə]

From the Greek trypanon, “borer,” plus sōma, “body,” Trypanosoma is a genus of hemoflagellate protozoa, several species of which are pathogenic in humans. Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, is transmitted from its vector to humans in the insect’s feces, not its saliva, as is the case with most other arthropodborne organisms, including Trypanosoma brucei, the etiologic agent of sleeping sickness.

Sources: Dorland’s illustrated medical dictionary. 30th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2003 and wikipedia.org