Atropa

deadly nightshade

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In an emergency room, a clinician prepares an injection from a medicine vial beside a patient being treated after poisoning, with muscle-monitoring equipment nearby.

noun

atropine

AT-ruh-peen

A drug that blocks certain nerve signals.

Etymology

atropLatindeadly nightshade

+ineFrenchan ending used in substance names

Atropa names deadly nightshade and comes from Atropos, the Fate who cuts the thread of life. With the chemical suffix, it names an alkaloid extracted from that plant.

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atropine