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opium |
Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
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opium /opi·um/ (o´pe-um) [L.] air-dried milky exudation from incised unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum or its variety album, containing some 20 alkaloids, the more important being morphine, codeine, and thebaine; the alkaloids are used for their narcotic and analgesic effect. Because it is highly addictive, opium production is restricted and cultivation of the plants from which it is obtained is prohibited by most nations under an international agreement.
opium [ō′pē·əm] Etymology: Gk, opion, poppy juice a milky exudate from the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum and Papaver album yielding 9.5% or more of anhydrous morphine. It is an opioid analgesic, a hypnotic, and an astringent. Opium contains several alkaloids, including codeine, morphine, and papaverine. See also codeine, morphine sulfate, opium tincture, papaverine hydrochloride, paregoric. opium (ō´pē n the actual juice of the poppy, Papaver somniferum. It contains morphine, codeine, nicotine, narceine, and many other alkaloids. opium the air-dried milky exudation from unripe capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum or its variety P. somniferum album. Opium contains some 25 alkaloids, the most important being morphine (from which heroin is derived), narcotine, codeine, papaverine, thebaine and narceine; the alkaloids are used for their narcotic and analgesic effect. It is poisonous in large doses. Because it is highly addictive, opium production and cultivation of opium poppies is prohibited by most nations by international agreement, and its sale or possession for other than medical or veterinary uses is strictly prohibited by law. camphorated tincture of opium see paregoric. opium poppy see papaversomniferum. opium How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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