Definition of "ptomaine" []

• A basic nitrogenous organic compound produced by bacterial putrefaction of protein. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Food poisoning -- commonly called ptomaine poisoning -- and the effects ascribed to "salts of tin" result from improper handling and improper preparation of the product before packing, or from allowing the product to stand in the tin after it has been opened."
• "Oh, yes, it was a full man's job, and I dosed and doctored, and pulled teeth, and dragged my patients through mild little things like ptomaine poisoning."
• "To-morrow, or some other day, a ptomaine bug, or some other of a thousand bugs, might jump out upon him and drag him down."