Properties
- Melting point:
- 255°C
- Boiling point:
- 427.77°C (rough estimate)
- Density
- 1.0864 (rough estimate)
- refractive index
- 1.5400 (estimate)
- Flash point:
- 11 °C
- storage temp.
- −20°C
- solubility
- Ethanol (Slightly), Methanol (Slightly)
- form
- Solid
- pka
- 8.21(at 25℃)
- color
- White to Pale Yellow
- Water Solubility
- 0.4mg/L(25 ºC)
- BCS Class
- 1,3
Safety Information
- Symbol(GHS)
GHS02,GHS06,GHS08
- Signal word
- Danger
- Hazard statements
- H225-H301+H311+H331-H370
- Precautionary statements
- P210-P280-P302+P352+P312-P304+P340+P312-P370+P378-P403+P235
- Hazard Codes
- F,T
- Risk Statements
- 11-23/24/25-39/23/24/25
- Safety Statements
- 7-16-36/37-45
- RIDADR
- UN 1230 3/PG 2
- WGK Germany
- 2
- Toxicity
- An alkaloid of the opium poppy that
makes up between 9% and 14% of good grades of opium.
Morphine is usually used clinically as an analgesic in the form
of the sulfate or hydrochloride salt. The most important acute
toxic effect of large doses of morphine is depression of the
respiratory centers in the medulla and pons. Morphine and
related drugs also cause somnolence, coma, cold clammy skin,
bradycardia, and hypotension. Initial doses of morphine seem
to stimulate the chemoreceptor trigger zone to induce emesis,
with subsequent doses blocking the vomiting center, hence
blocking emesis. Morphine also has profound effects on the
gastrointestinal tract, increasing the tone of the intestinal tract,
but decreasing the propulsive or spasmodic reflexes, thus
resulting in constipation. Morphine stimulates the nucleus of
the third cranial nerve to produce miosis, making pinpoint
pupil a diagnostic sign both in morphine overdose and
morphine addiction. Morphine causes a variety of effects on
the CNS and is highly addictive. Many behavioral changes are
seen, ranging from euphoria to sedation. These behavioral
effects contribute to the problem of abuse with all of the opiates.
Tolerance and dependence occur with repeated dosing,
with increasingly larger doses being needed to obtain the original
effect. Abrupt withdrawal after chronic use can lead to
physiological rebound in these same systems. Therapy for
acute overdosage involves physiological support (establishment
of adequate respiratory exchange), gastric lavage, and use of
narcotic antagonists. Morphine and related compounds act by
binding to specific high-affinity receptors concentrated in the
nervous system, but also located elsewhere in the body. In the
nervous system, the endogenous ligands for these morphine
receptors are the opioid peptides that include the enkephalins,
endorphins, and dynorphins. The multiple and complex actions
of morphine are due, in part, to the fact that it acts as an agonist
at many of these classes of receptors. Paregoric (camphorated
tincture of opium) is used as an antidiarrheal. Paregoric is
a schedule III drug under the US Controlled Substances Act
and may produce physical dependence.
Use
Morphine is used primarily to treat both acute and chronic severe pain. Its duration of analgesia is about three to seven hours.Side-effects of nausea and constipation are rarely severe enough to warrant stopping treatment.
It is used for pain due to myocardial infarction and for labor pains.However, concerns exist that morphine may increase mortality in the event of non ST elevation myocardial infarction.Morphine has also traditionally been used in the treatment of acute pulmonary edema.A 2006 review, though, found little evidence to support this practice.A 2016 Cochrane review concluded that morphine is effective in relieving cancer pain.