A condition or poisoning caused by excessive use or overdose of atropine, a drug that affects the nervous system.
From atropine (a toxic alkaloid from deadly nightshade) + -ism (suffix indicating a condition or state). Atropine itself comes from Atropos, one of the Greek Fates. The -ism suffix became productive in medical terminology during the 19th century to describe drug-induced conditions.
Atropinism shows how plants have been used as poisons throughout history—deadly nightshade was so dangerous that ancient people associated it with fate itself, literally naming it after the Fate who cuts the thread of life. Ironically, this same plant is now used medically in tiny doses to dilate pupils or treat nerve gas exposure.
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