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  • Papaver somniferum L. Papaveraceae Opium Poppy Distribution: Asia minor, but has been dated to 5000BC in Spanish caves. Now grows almost everywhere. The oldest medicine in continuous use, described in the Ebers' papyrus (1550 BC), called Meconium, Laudanum, Paregoric and syrup of poppies. Culpeper (1650) on Meconium '...the juyce of English Poppies boyled till it be thick' and 'I am of the opinion that Opium is nothing else but the juyce of poppies growing in hotter countries, for such Opium as Authors talk of comes from Utopia.[he means an imaginary land, I suspect]’]. He cautions 'Syrups of Poppies provoke sleep, but in that I desire they may be used with a great deal of caution and wariness...' and warns in particular about giving syrup of poppies to children to get them to sleep. The alkaloids in the sap include: Morphine 12% - affects ?-opioid receptors in the brain and causes happiness, sleepiness, pain relief, suppresses cough and causes constipation. Codeine 3% – mild opiate actions – converted to morphine in the body. Papaverine, relaxes smooth muscle spasm in arteries of heart and brain, and also for intestinal spasm, migraine and erectile dysfunction. Not analgesic. Thebaine mildly analgesic, stimulatory, is made into oxycodone and oxymorphone which are analgesics, and naloxone for treatment of opiate overdose – ?-opioid receptor competitive antagonist – it displaces morphine from ?-opioid receptors, and constipation caused by opiates. Protopine – analgesic, antihistamine so relieves pain of inflammation. Noscapine – anti-tussive (anti-cough). In 2006 the world production of opium was 6,610 metric tons, in 1906 it was over 30,000 tons when 25% of Chinese males were regular users. The Opium wars of the end of the 19th century were caused by Britain selling huge quantities of Opium to China to restore the balance of payments deficit. Laudanum: 10mg of morphine (as opium) per ml. Paregoric: camphorated opium tincture. 0.4mg morphine per ml. Gee’s Linctus: up to 60 mg in a bottle. J Collis Browne’s chlorodyne: cannabis, morphine, alcohol etc. Kaolin and Morph. - up to 60 mg in a bottle. Dover’s Powders – contained Ipecacuana and morphine. Heroin is made from morphine, but converted back into morphine in the body (Oakeley, 2012). One gram of poppy seeds contains 0.250mgm of morphine, and while one poppy seed bagel will make a urine test positive for morphine for a week, one would need 30-40 bagels to have any discernible effect. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Papaver somniferum L. Papaveraceae Opium Poppy Distribution: Asia minor, but has been dated to 5000BC in Spanish caves. Now grows almost everywhere. The oldest medicine in continuous use, described in the Ebers' papyrus (1550 BC), called Meconium, Laudanum, Paregoric and syrup of poppies. Culpeper (1650) on Meconium '...the juyce of English Poppies boyled till it be thick' and 'I am of the opinion that Opium is nothing else but the juyce of poppies growing in hotter countries, for such Opium as Authors talk of comes from Utopia [he means an imaginary land, I suspect]’. He cautions 'Syrups of Poppies provoke sleep, but in that I desire they may be used with a great deal of caution and wariness...' and warns in particular about giving syrup of poppies to children to get them to sleep. The alkaloids in the sap include: Morphine 12% - affects ?-opioid receptors in the brain and causes happiness, sleepiness, pain relief, suppresses cough and causes constipation. Codeine 3% – mild opiate actions – converted to morphine in the body. Papaverine, relaxes smooth muscle spasm in arteries of heart and brain, and also for intestinal spasm, migraine and erectile dysfunction. Not analgesic. Thebaine mildly analgesic, stimulatory, is made into oxycodone and oxymorphone which are analgesics, and naloxone for treatment of opiate overdose – ?-opioid receptor competitive antagonist – it displaces morphine from ?-opioid receptors, and reverses the constipation caused by opiates. Protopine – analgesic, antihistamine so relieves pain of inflammation. Noscapine – anti-tussive (anti-cough). In 2006 the world production of opium was 6,610 metric tons, in 1906 it was over 30,000 tons when 25% of Chinese males were regular users. The Opium wars of the end of the 19th century were caused by Britain selling huge quantities of Opium to China to restore the balance of payments deficit. Laudanum: 10mg of morphine (as opium) per ml. Paregoric: camphorated opium tincture. 0.4mg morphine per ml. Gee’s Linctus: up to 60 mg in a bottle. J Collis Browne’s chlorodyne: cannabis, morphine, alcohol etc. Kaolin and Morph. - up to 60 mg in a bottle. Dover’s Powders – contained Ipecacuana and morphine. Heroin is made from morphine, but converted back into morphine in the body (Oakeley, 2012). One gram of poppy seeds contains 0.250mgm of morphine, and while one poppy seed bagel will make a urine test positive for morphine for a week, one would need 30-40 bagels to have any discernible effect. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Fashionable men and women promenading with their faces obscured by large collars and headwear. Etching by William Brocas.
  • A town gentlemen exclaiming to his servant about a extremely long doctor's bill. Coloured etching by W. Heath, 1823.
  • A large country doctor conversing with a slim well-groomed city doctor. Etching.
  • A man who has lost weight due to cholera: his clothes are now too large. Coloured lithograph.
  • Dr. Flannel suggests to a fashionable lady that she wear a flannel petticoat to keep her legs warm. Coloured etching by I. Cruikshank, 1807?, after G.M. Woodward.
  • An elderly man throwing his head back to swallow some pills and in the process tossing water all over himself. Coloured aquatint after M. Egerton, 1827.
  • An elderly man throwing his head back to swallow some pills and in the process tossing water all over himself. Coloured aquatint after M. Egerton, 1827.
  • A swollen lethargic patient with ten physicians seated around a table on which are axes and a halter; symbolising England's government and the need for reform. Engraving, 1756.
  • A man suddenly awakened by two squalling cats. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1806.
  • A pompous physician trying to impress the two ladies he is visiting. Etching, 1804.
  • A man fast asleep with his head back and wig dangling. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1806.
  • A man with an excruciating headache. Coloured etching by H. Cook, 1827, after M. Egerton.
  • A smartly dressed woman examining the head of a military man. Coloured etching attributed to W. Heath, ca 1830.
  • A misunderstanding between doctor and patient. Coloured lithograph.
  • A smartly dressed woman examining the head of a military man. Coloured etching attributed to W. Heath, ca 1830.
  • Two girls fight over a doll which they both lay claim to. Coloured stipple engraving by C. Knight after H. Singleton.
  • A doctor taking the pulse of a country squire; the smug doctor receives a drink from the butler while his disgruntled patient's medicine is prepared by the maid. Lithograph by W. Hunt, 1825, after H.W. Bunbury.
  • A haggard old woman carelessly mixing a recipe for corns on the fire in her sordid bedroom. Etching by G. Cruikshank, 1819, after Captain F. Marryat.
  • A haggard old woman carelessly mixing a recipe for corns on the fire in her sordid bedroom. Etching by G. Cruikshank, 1819, after Captain F. Marryat.
  • A farmer duping a doctor. Coloured etching by C. Williams, 1823.
  • A fashionable middle-aged woman reprimanding a young male relative. Coloured lithograph.
  • A doctor and his patient talking at cross purposes. Coloured etching by C. Williams, 1823.
  • An ill man taking a gargling mixture for a sore throat. Coloured aquatint by H. Pyall after M. Egerton, 1827.
  • A group of dandified tailors attending a lecture, given by a grotesquely fashionable tailor, on "anatomical cutting". Coloured etching by R. Seymour after himself, 1829.
  • An ill man being bled by a surgeon. Coloured etching after J. Gillray, 1804, after J. Sneyd.
  • An ill man being bled by a surgeon. Coloured etching by J. Sneyd, 1804, after J. Gillray.
  • A sick man stranded on the toilet after taking a laxative. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1804, after J. Sneyd.
  • An attractive woman courting a strange looking man; suggesting that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Coloured lithograph, 1833.