ATROPA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order of Solenaceæ, most of which are active poisons. A. Belladonna (deadly nightshade), and A. Mandragora, are well-known examples.
ATROPHY (α, privative, and τροφή, a nourishment), in Medicine, a disease in which the body does not receive the necessary nutriment from the blood, but wastes and decays incessantly.