God of Dreams

In earlier times, when relatively few pure organic chemicals were known, new compounds were named at the whim of their discoverer. Thus, urea (CH4N20) is a crystalline substance isolated from urine morphine (C H NOj) is an analgesic (painkiller) named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams and barbituric acid is a tranquilizing agent said to be named by its discoverer in honor of... 

Morphine is self-administered by Friedrich Wilhelm Sertiirner and is named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, after he experiences its narcotic effects. 

At the turn of the nineteenth century, opium was an important part of medical practice. By the time that Frederick Serturner, a young clerk in a small German pharmacy, extracted morphine from opium, the world was already experienced in both medicinal and recreational opium use. Serturner s extraction was the first alkaloid ever isolated, and he named it after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus. 

In 1803 the German pharmacist Seturner achieved the isolation of morphine as one of the active ingredients of opium. He named the compound after Morpheus, Ovid s god of dreams, the son of sleep. Among the other alkaloids of opium are codeine, isolated in 1832, thebaine, narceine, narcotine, and papaverine. From the isolation of pure morphine to the elucidation of its structure by first Gulland and Robinson(1,2) and later Schopf(3) took another 120 years. A total synthesis by Gates and Tschudi(4,5) confirmed the structure in the early 1950s. 

By the early part of the nineteenth century the main constituent, morphine, had been isolated by Wilhelm Serturner in Germany and shown to be a powerful analgesic and narcotic, able to induce sleep. He called it morphine after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. The invention of the hypodermic syringe allowed morphine to be injected which made it more rapidly effective but also increased its addictive properties. 

The Juice opium in Greek) or latex from the unripe seed pods of the poppy Papaver somniferum is among the oldest recorded medications used by humans. The writings of Theophrastus around 200 BC describe the use of opium in medicine however, evidence suggests that opium was used in the Sumerian culture as early as 3500 BC. The initial use of opium was as a tonic, or it was smoked. The pharmacist Surturner first isolated an alkaloid from opium in 1803. He named the alkaloid morphine, after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. Codeine, thebaine, and papaverine are other medically important alkaloids that were later isolated from the latex of opium poppies. 

The ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks all knew of the pain-relieving properties of opium, and Shakespeare certainly knew about its sleep-inducing effect. He refers to it in Othello Not poppy, nor mandragora, / Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world, / Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep / Which thou ow dst yesterday. Indeed, Serturner named the specific component he isolated from opium morphine, after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. 

Indian opium (from Papaver somniferum) contains more than 30 different isoquinoline alkaloids (22 %), which can be divided into those of a morphine type and those ofa papaverine type (Fig. 5.49). The main alkaloids are morphine (Greek Morpheus God of dreams), arormd 12 %, and narcotine, around 5 %. The remainder comprises meconic acid (11 %), water (14 %), sulfuric and lactic acid (8%), fats, proteins, sugars and waxes (ca. 44%). [72, 81]... 

In an earlier time, when few medications were available, Sir William Osier, a famous physician, called morphine "God s own medicine." It was named for the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus, by the German pharmacist who first isolated it from opium in 1803. 

Morphine (named after Morpheus, the Creek god of dreams) is the major alkaloid present in opium. Opium is the dried sap of the unripe seed capsule of the poppy Papaver somniferum its medical properties have been known since ancient times. Morphine was not isolated in pure form until 180S its correct structure was not established until 1 925, and it was not synthesized in the laboratory until 1 952. 

In Greek mythology Hypnos, the god of sleep, is the brother of Thanatos, the god of death. Morpheus, the god of dreams, is Hypnos s son. 

A painkiller named after the Greek God of dreams, Morpheus... 

The name of the drug morphine is derived from Morpheus, the God of dreams in Greek mythology. Morpheus is the son of Hypnos, the God of sleep, who is the namesake of the hypnotic dmgs. Morphine was isolated around 1805, but as late as 1947 the molecular structure was still not clear. The debate in those years related to the group at the C6 position. The question was settled in 1952, with the first reported synthesis of morphine. 

---