History and Significance
Atropine has been in use for centuries, however its medicinal capability has not always been known. Atropine is found naturally in a few plants most notably the infamous Atropa Belladonna, or deadly night shade. As its name implies, deadly night shade is a poisonous plant of which atropine is one of the main poisons. Atropine was first isolated from jimson weed, a more common plant than deadly nightshade, by Greiger and Hesse in 1833. Atropine is extracted commercially from jimson weed and can be used for a few uses, mainly as a heart medication or treatment for cholinesterase agents. 1 Atropine affects the heart by interacting with the M2 receptor in the heart. Inside the heart the vagus nerve releases acetylcholine
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As shown, atropine contains two major functional groups, an ester and an alcohol. Atropine is made up of two different precursors, tropic acid and tropine which can be combined through a Fisher-Speier reaction to link them with an ester.5 Atropine is a chiral molecule as it has a single chiral carbon located at the stem of the branch containing the alcohol.
Connection to My Life
Atropine has short yet important history with me. For most the past decade, I have had a hobby of identifying plants and weeds that grow in south central Pennsylvania. This hobby quickly turned into a hobby of collecting the most interesting of these plants and their seeds. One of the plants that grows commonly from southern Pa to northern New York is Woody nightshade, which is often confused with deadly nightshade, (google deadly nightshade and woody nightshade is bound to show in at least half if not more of the images that google displays). In trying to differentiate these two plants I ended up reading about atropine as it is a poison present in deadly nightshade. In reading about atropine and its uses, it influenced my interest in chemistry and allowed to realize my interest in learning about how chemicals interact with the human body especially poisons. In a sense this relatively simple molecule was the gate way to the finer points of my interest in chemistry, especially organic chemistry. Naturally deadly night shade has
It increases during physical exercise to deliver extra oxygen to the tissues and to take away excess carbon dioxide. As mentioned at rest, the heart beats around 75 beats per minute but during exercise this could exceed to 200 times per minute. The SAN controls the heart rate. The rate increases or decreases when it receives information by two autonomic nerves that link the SAN and the cardiovascular centre in the medulla of the brain. The sympathetic or accelerator nerve speeds up the heart. The synapses at the end of this nerve secretes noradrenaline. A parasympathetic or decelerator nerve, a branch of the vagus nerve slows down the heart and the synapses at the end of this nerve secretes
The gaseous free radical nitric oxide is an abundant intracellular messenger molecule that plays a central role in maintenance of health, and is heavily involved in signal transduction in various cells of the body [1]. This molecule acts as a mediator in the regulation of cardiac function as well as having an important role in regulating contractility of the heart and maintenance of vascular tone in the cardiovascular system. As one of the most significant individuals in our discovery of nitric oxide, Dr. Robert Furchgott pioneered our understanding of this molecule through his experiments on the vasorelaxant properties of acetylcholine and the subsequent proposal of the presence of the endothelium derived relaxing factor, which was later identified to be nitric oxide [7]. Given the observation that cardiovascular disorders are the number one cause of death in many nations around the world, research into the vasorelaxant properties seems particularly relevant in order to help combat rising rates of vascular hypertension and high blood pressure. In this paper, the properties of nitric oxide are discussed largely with respect to the cardiovascular system. This paper focuses on the synthesis and characteristics of nitric oxide, the mechanisms of action by which nitric oxide works and the regulation of nitric oxide in the body, and finally a short summary of Robert Furchgott’s contributions to the discovery of nitric oxide and its properties.
In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Jemshed A. Khan claims that Roger Chillingworth poisoned Arthur Dimmesdale with the drug atropine in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Certainly, Chillingworth was “a man of skill in all Christian modes of physical science'; (Hawthorne 65) and was very knowledgeable about medicinal roots and herbs (Hawthorne 65). Undoubtedly, he could have been aware of how to poison Dimmesdale slowly. Although Khan’s line of conjecture is somewhat persuasive and seemingly well supported, it does not hold up under intense examination. There is much support in The Scarlet Letter to prove that Dimmesdale did not die from atropine.
In a healthy individual receiving a general anaesthetic, the anaesthetist must be aware of the causes and treatment of acute onset AF, both intra-operatively and peri-operatively. Patients with AF often develop a decline in left ventricular performance and other hemodynamic instabilities including reduced diastolic filling and tachycardia mediated cardiomyopathy1, all of which can reduce cardiac output and pose difficulties for the anaesthetist.
Sinus tachycardia can be caused by different factors within the body including stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system or a blocked parasympathetic system. The autonomic nervous system which controls the heart originates in the medulla oblongata. The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous symptoms and slows the heart down. When this block of the stimulation of the nerve occurs the heart cannot slow down (Jevon, 2010). The sinoatrial or (SA) node in the heart seats the pace. With sinus tachycardia the signals are fired rapidly to the atria which in tu...
Physostigmine is a drug used for the treatment of severe anticholinergic syndrome. Such as nervous delirium, urinary reten...
During this rapid impulse the atria contract too fast which causes blood in the upper chambers known as the atria to pool; this means that the ventricles do not get the full supply of blood for that contraction.... ... middle of paper ... ... Patient education, medication regimen, healthy diet, understanding your condition, and being conscious of your emotional health are crucial when it comes to the management of atrial fibrillation. Works Cited Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, M. L. (2013).
acts to decrease the heart rate. It achieves this by assisting in the release of acetylcholine from the vagus nerve. Atropine on the other hand block acetylcholine receptors thus decreasing cardiac rate. By placing potassium directly on the heart, its extracellular concentration increases thus decreasing the resting potential. This brings the resting potential closer to threshold and weakens myocardial contractions. Epinephrine’s action increases the strength of contraction and of the cardiac rate. Caffeine is a stimulant that also increases the strength of contraction and of the cardiac rate. It inhibits phosphodiesterase that breaks down cyclic AMP thus causing an increase in cAMP levels. Nicotine actively binds to the nicotinic receptors causing stimulation of the parasympathetic ganglia.
Norepinephrine is the neurotransmitter released by sympathetic nerves (e.g., those innervating the heart and blood vessels) and, within the brain, those of the locus coe...
The heart serves as a powerful function in the human body through two main jobs. It pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout the body and “blood vessels called coronary arteries that carry oxygenated blood straight into the heart muscle” (Katzenstein and Pinã, 2). There are four chambers and valves inside the heart that “help regulate the flow of blood as it travels through the heart’s chambers and out to the lungs and body” (Katzenstein Pinã, 2). Within the heart there is the upper chamber known as the atrium (atria) and the lower chamber known as the ventricles. “The atrium receive blood from the lu...
Today, belladona is a very important plant to science and the medical field because of its chemical content. Dioscorides knew of the active constituent of this species in the first century, but it wasn't "discovered" for another eighteen hundred-years. In 1809, the chemical was isolated and by 1819 it was classified an "alkaloid." Today, we know that belladona contains atropine, scopolomine and hyoscyamine. According to the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, "atropine is extremely poisonous."(2) It is so potent that a dilution of only 1 part in 130,000 parts water is sufficient to dilate the pupil of a cats eye.
Most often the disease starts in the left ventricle, and then often spreads to both the atrium and right ventricle as well. Usually there will also be mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, due to the dilation of the annuli. This regurgitation will continue to make problems worse by adding excessive volume and pressure to the atria, which is what then causes them to dilate. Once the atria become dilated it often leads to atrial fibrillation. As the volume load increases the ventricles become more dilated and over time the myocytes become weakened and cannot contract as they should. As you might have guessed with the progressive myocyte degeneration, there is a reduction in cardiac output which then may present as signs of heart failure (Lily).
The heart is a pump with four chambers made of their own special muscle called cardiac muscle. Its interwoven muscle fibers enable the heart to contract or squeeze together automatically (Colombo 7). It’s about the same size of a fist and weighs some where around two hundred fifty to three hundred fifty grams (Marieb 432). The size of the heart depends on a person’s height and size. The heart wall is enclosed in three layers: superficial epicardium, middle epicardium, and deep epicardium. It is then enclosed in a double-walled sac called the Pericardium. The terms Systole and Diastole refer respectively and literally to the contraction and relaxation periods of heart activity (Marieb 432). While the doctor is taking a patient’s blood pressure, he listens for the contractions and relaxations of the heart. He also listens for them to make sure that they are going in a single rhythm, to make sure that there are no arrhythmias or complications. The heart muscle does not depend on the nervous system. If the nervous s...
Physostigmine is the antidote for atropine poisoning. Currently, physostigmine salicylate is used for glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, scopolamine, and myasthenia gravis. FDA only approved the treatment of Glaucoma for the adults. In addition, in the case of poisoning, FDA approved Physostigmine for both adults and pediatrics.
ince thiamine is an important cofactor in the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, a deficiency caused by excessive alcohol intake can have devastating effects on the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Neurological effects caused by thiamine deficiency are known as Dry beriberi, while cardiovascular effects are known as Wet beriberi (Morse 1992). Thiamine deficiency can result in acetylcholine deficiency, which leads to memory loss and lack of concentration. Thiamine is responsible for the maintenance of nerve cells and improper maintenance caused by a deficiency can lead to tremors. It is interesting to note that putting a patient on an anti-seizure medication can result in thiamine deficiency (1992).