An older spelling or variant of atropine, a powerful drug extracted from nightshade plants that affects the nervous system and is used in medicine.
From Atropa (deadly nightshade genus) + '-in' (standard suffix for alkaloids and organic compounds). This spelling variant shows older chemical nomenclature before standardization.
Atropine has been used in warfare, assassination, medicine, and cosmetics—medieval Italian women used deadly nightshade to dilate pupils (they called it 'belladonna' or 'beautiful lady') because large pupils were considered attractive, which is beautifully and darkly ironic.
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