M hi (C Morphine, (C
H NO
H O) i 17
H19NO
3
•
H
2O)
, i
s
a
narcotic analgesic drug used primarily in
medicine for its pain killing properties.
Morphine was isolated from opium in 1805
and named for Morpheus, the Greek god of
sleep, y b
y the German chemist and
pharmacist Friedrich W. Sertürner (1783-
1841). Morphine is the principle and most
active alkaloid obtained from the unripe
seed capsules of the opium poppy