(trō-fer'i-mă wi-pel'ī) A gram-positive bacterium, related to Group B actinomycetes, which causes Whipple disease; found in tissues of infected patients and in sewage; mode of transmission unknown.
Tropheryma whippeli
(tro-fer'i-ma (h)wip-el-i [NL.]) A gram-positive, aerobic bacillus that grows in branching filaments. It is the cause of Whipple's disease. See: Whipple's disease