PS268 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Constipation, Hypoventilation, Oxycodone
Document Summary
Papaver somniferum the poppy that brings sleep. Opium is produced and available for collection for only a few days of the poppy plant"s life. People ate opium for years with very few problems then they started smoking it. 1729: opium smoking outlawed in china but smuggling was widespread. British east india company was involved in opium trade, legally in india and illegally in china. Pressure grew and eventually war broke out between the british and chinese. 1839-1842; 1856-1860 opium wars are fought, china loses, forced to allow opium sales by the british. Named morphium after morpheus, the god of dreams. Named codeine from the greek word for poppy head . 1853: hypodermic syringe allowed delivery of morphine directly into the blood. Widespread use during war provided relief from pain and dysentery. Many veterans were dependent on morphine and dependence was later called soldier"s disease or army disease . Morphine allowed detailed surgery for the first time not just amputation.
