Morphine is a major component of OPIUM, a product of the poppy plant (PAPAVER SOMNIFERUM or P. album). Named after Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep, morphine is a potent ANALGESIC (painkiller) that is widely used for moderate to severe PAIN. Morphine is one of approximately twenty ALKALOIDS in opium; it was first purified in 1806 and, by the mid-1800s, pure morphine was becoming widely used in medicine. At approximately the same time, the hypodermic needle and syringe was developed, which permitted the injection of the drug under the skin (subcutaneous, S.C.), into muscles (intramuscular, I.M.), or directly into the veins (intravenous, I.V.). Together, these routes of administration are termed parenteral. Injections provide rapid relief of pain and can be used in patients who are unable to take medications by mouth. These advantages led to the wide use of morphine injections during the American Civil...