atropine

Noun. (context, poison) An alkaloid extracted from the plant deadly nightshade (''Atropa belladonna'') and other sources. Though overdoses would be fatal it is used as a drug in medicine for its paralytic effects (e.g. in surgery to relax muscles, in dentistry to dry the mouth, in ophthalmology to dilate the pupils).

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.