Pharmacological and Clinical Considerations

Morphine (1) and related compounds exert their major pharmacological actions on the central nervous system (CNS) and gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Their most important clinical property is the ability to induce analgesia, that is, to suppress pain, which they do without the patient necessarily losing consciousness. In addition, they induce drowsiness depress respiration, which may be life-threatening alter mood, often causing euphoria and physical 

Much of the chemical modification work described in this book has been stimulated by the desire to produce analgesics that have a pain-killing capacity greater than that of morphine while reducing considerably or preferably eliminating its major adverse effects. 

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Rossiter A, Souney PF. Interaction between MAOIs and opioids pharmacologic and clinical considerations. Hosp Formul 1993 28(8) 692-8. 

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