Trichuris, often referred to as whipworms (which typically refers to T. trichiura only in medicine, and to any other species in veterinary medicine), is a genus of parasite worms from the roundworm family Trichuridae, which is a type of helminth. The name whipworm refers to the shape of the worm; they look like whips with wider "handles" at the posterior end. The name Trichocephalus is sometimes used for this genus.