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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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This Day In History - February 20, 1841
#13993589 - 02/20/11 12:37 AM (13 years, 14 days ago) |
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February 20, 1841
February 20th marks the passing of Friedrich Sertürner. Who??
Morphine was isolated from raw opium in 1805 by a German pharmacologist, Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Serturner (1783-1841). He called the isolated alkaloid "morphium" after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus.
It was not only the first alkaloid to be extracted from opium, but the first ever alkaloid to be isolated from any plant. Like Sir Humphry Davy, who tried his discovery, nitrous oxide, first on himself, Serturner himself took the morphine that he had extracted from opium. He also used the morphine crystals in mouse food to kill the mice in his cellar and in dog food to get rid of unwanted dogs in the vicinity.
To determine an appropriate dosage for humans, Serturner enlisted friends to ingest the morphine in a series of controlled experiments. Serturner also participated in the experiments while observing and recording the effects of the drug at increased dosages. The experiments revealed that one-half grain of the morphine induced a happy, lightheaded sensation. A second dose caused drowsiness and excessive fatigue. The subjects fell into confusion followed by a deep slumber after ingesting a third dose, and they suffered nausea and headaches upon awakening. Although his friends refused to continue the experiments, Serturner took the morphine compound for months by himself, unaware that it was extremely addictive.
The discovery and isolation of morphine brought Serturner several honorary doctor’s degrees from outstanding universities and even a prize of 2,000 francs as a ‘Benefactor of Humanity’. But, strangely enough he was criticised later, perhaps because the setting for his scientific work was not any university but an humble apothecary shop.
Serturner became embittered and turned his fertile mind to firearms, an area where he made substantial improvements. He suffered from gout in his later life and quelled his pain with the very morphine he had isolated.
He died in Hameln on February 20, 1841, unaware that the full potential of his discovery was imminent with the invention of intravenous medication a few years later.
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Dragonaut


Registered: 06/24/04
Posts: 6,196
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Re: This Day In History - February 20, 1841 [Re: veggie]
#13994532 - 02/20/11 08:29 AM (13 years, 13 days ago) |
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who?
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Beanhead
IS IRONIC PARADOX


Registered: 10/11/08
Posts: 17,257
Loc: Geospatial inversion.
Last seen: 3 years, 7 months
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Re: This Day In History - February 20, 1841 [Re: veggie]
#13994539 - 02/20/11 08:30 AM (13 years, 13 days ago) |
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Awesome information, thanks!
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