Trypanosoma cruzi

Now, this is gonna be regurgitation of both solids and liquids, dysphagia, solids and liquids at the same time, and it can be idiopathic.

It can be due to weird things like Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi.

Bird's beak appearance, so contrast swallow are our next best step in diagnosis for two CK three.

And then manometry, which is a pressure study which shows increased pressure at the LES.

We also use ELISA tests to detect circulating parasitic antigens in the blood, which is a powerful tool because finding the antigen itself confirms a current active infection rather than just antibodies from a past exposure.

But then the text introduces another diagnostic method for particularly elusive blood parasites, like Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease.

The method is called xenodiagnosis.

I have to admit, reading this, I was in absolute shock.

C is a bunch of things.

Chagas disease, that's Trypanosoma cruzi.

Cocaine.

Coxsackie B virus.

And of course, you already mentioned that Chagas itself is named after Carlos Chagas, a Brazilian physician who first described it.

And really, the parasite's name is Trypanosoma cruzi.

Cruzi for Osvaldo Cruz, another pioneer of medical science in Brazil, that he used his name to name a parasite.

Anyway, something about names in this story.