Morphine Essay

Morphine and its congeners and methadone depress the cough reflex by a direct effect on the cough centers in the medulla; antitussive effects may occur with doses lower than those required for analgesia. Meperidine and its congeners generally have appreciable antitussive activity only in analgesic doses. Opiate agonists produce respiratory depression by a direct effect on the respiratory centers in the brain stem resulting in decreased sensitivity and responsiveness to increases in serum carbon dioxide tension (Pco2). These drugs depress the pontine and medullary centers which regulate respiratory rhythm and may also alter voluntary control of respiration. Depressed respiration produces an increase in arterial Pco2 resulting in cerebral vasodilation

A few of these include patients suffering from heart attacks, pain associated with surgery, trauma and chronic pain like cancer. It is used as general anesthesia, a substance that puts you to sleep if you need to have a surgery, so that you don’t remember it. Like everything else, too much of morphine is not good for you. It can cause constipation. If taken in excess it can even lead to cardiac arrest. Morphine can cause blood pressure to fall. It may make you feel faint, make things look blurred, give you shortness of breath or slow breathing. So even though morphine relieves stress remember too much of it is not good. The less desirable effects of upload use include constipation, sleepiness, nausea and vomiting. Morphine's isolation paved the way for the discovery of several other very mportant plant alkaloids, including strychnine, quinine, caffeine, nicotine, atropine, and cocaine. Most governments do not consider the fact that morphine "has plenty of scientific research to support its medical use. Few drugs work better and with fewer side-effects than morphine on the chronic pain of cancer, AIDS and [other] serious medical conditions" (Morphine). It is often ignored that the possibility for morphine addiction is very minimal if there is proper doctor supervision. Consequently, one of the most potent pain relievers known to humans is unable to help the patients who require it the