Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
At·ro·pa Pronunciation:
'a-tr&-p& Function:
noun : a genus of Eurasian and African herbs (as belladonna) of the familySolanaceae that have entire leaves, a usually bell-shaped calyx and corolla, and a fruit that is a berry and that are a source of medicinal alkaloids (as atropine and scopolamine)
Atároápos /'a-tr&-"päs, -p&s/, Greek mythological character. The three Fates of Greek mythology were pictured as old women who spun out every person's destiny as if it were a thread. Clothospun the thread, Lachesis measured it out, and Atropos cut it off. Belladonna was the first plant to be named in the genus
Atropa. As the plant is highly poisonous, the genus was appropriatelynamed after the goddess who cut the thread of life.
