Definition of leishmania in English:
leishmania
nounPlural leishmanias, Plural leishmaniae liːʃˈmeɪnɪəlēSHˈmānēə
A single-celled parasitic protozoan which spends part of its life cycle in the gut of a sandfly and part in the blood and other tissues of a vertebrate.
Genus Leishmania, phylum Kinetoplastida, kingdom Protista
Example sentencesExamples
- The only way to contract leishmania parasites is through the bite of the tiny sand fly.
- Parts of the malaria and leishmania parasite genomes are also known.
- Hundreds of peacekeeping troops have succumbed to the disease, after becoming infected with single-celled parasites called leishmania.
- The leishmania parasite is spread by the bite of a sandfly not known to exist in Australia.
- Parasite virulence genes identified as part of the leishmania genome project may be specifically targeted for vaccine or drug design.
Origin
Modern Latin, from the name of William B. Leishman (1856–1926), British pathologist.