[Mydriasis induced by splinter from belladonna bush].
OBJECTIVE
Pupillary dilatation with alcaloids from the Atropa belladonna plant have been used since antiquity. It is less known that the wood of the plant contains an even higher concentration of alkaloids than the ripe fruit.


METHODS
Clinical case.


RESULTS
A 32-year-old patient presented with a foreign body sensation after a splinter got in his eye while chopping wood of an Atropa belladonna bush in the underbrush. Ophthalmic examination showed a visual acuity of 0.9 s.c. (1.0 with pinhole) and a pupil in a fixed mydriasis without any visible rupture of the sphincter muscle. After a 3-day follow-up the pupil returned to normal size and visual acuity recovered to 1.25 s.c.


CONCLUSIONS
The wood of the Atropa belladonna plant contains a very high concentration of alkaloids. A well-directed history may help to discover this less well-known cause of an accidental mydriasis.
Berney
C
C
Hôpital Ophtalmique Jules Gonin, Université de Lausanne, Suisse.
Wolfensberger
T J
TJ
D000328:Adult; D001532:Atropa belladonna / Q000009:adverse effects; D001533:Belladonna Alkaloids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005129:Eye Foreign Bodies / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015878:Mydriasis / Q000139:chemically induced*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects; D014934:Wood
D001533:Belladonna Alkaloids
Mydriase pharmacologique par les alcaloïdes du bois d'atropa belladonna.