Morphine is one of the most important and powerful analgesics known to man. Named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, it is well known for it's ability to effectively suppress pain.
It was a young pharmacist by the name of Frederich Wilhem Adam Serturner who first isolated morphine from opium in 1803. Morphine's isolation paved the way for the discovery of several other very important plant alkaloids, including strychnine, quinine, caffeine, nicotine, atropine and cocaine.
Other than morphine the opium poppy contains two other important alkaloids, codeine and papaverine. Since the percentage of codeine in opium is very minimal (0.5%), it is neccesary for it to be derived from the morphine molecule. Morphine is found in quantities of 10% to 20% in raw opium. It is also used to form many other semi-synthetic opioids including thebaine and oxycodone.
One of the major uses of morphine was during the American civil war (1861-1863). With the invention of the hypodermic needle, injected morphine could relieve the pain faster than any oral intake. It proved to be a very effective anaesthetic as well as an excellent pain reliever for the injured soldiers. Since then, morphine has has numerous medicinal uses. The most important reason for its choice is that it alleviates pain while still leaving the patient intelectually alert. This makes morphine ideal for use during child birth. Infact, morphine's uses are extensive. It is one of the few substances that will help patients with severe diarrhoea and dysentery. Morphine is helpful in relieving the pain of patients who have suffered third degree burns or those requiring cleft palate operations. It is used as an anaesthetic in major surgeries, to relieve severe pain in cancer patients, and even to help patients with heart failure. In some severe cases it may even be administered in veterinary medicine.
Due to the illict nature of morphine i feel restrained as to the content i am able to include, i apologize if you feel by me doing this i have been too brief. - C. Adams