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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.
  • A fashionably-dressed dandy apothecary. Etching by M. Darly, 1772.
  • A man in a gown is sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, preparing his dress and very elaborate hair style, with other men in the room. Coloured etching by I.W., 1772, after Captain Minshull.
  • A fashionable man takes his hat off while strolling; his hairdresser assists him by supporting the weight of his large wig. Coloured engraving by J. Caldwell after M.V. Brandoin.
  • A fashionable man and woman accompanied by a maid-servant and a boy servant; the woman, who wears an elaborately decorated pyramid wig, carries a dog under her right arm and looks admiringly at her male companion. Engraving, c. 1772.
  • A man holds out his hand to a weeping woman [Fidelia]. Engraving by Springwell after R. Corbould, 1792.
  • Sadler's Wells and the New River, with the city in the background. Engraving by A. Cruse after B. Lens, 1730.
  • A foppish fumigator holding a print of a birthing chair (?). Etching, 1772.
  • Sadler's Wells and the New River, with the city in the background. Engraving by A. Cruse after B. Lens, 1730.
  • A fashionable mother wearing a dress with slits across the breasts in order to feed her baby before she dashes off to the carriage waiting outside. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1796.
  • A fashionable mother wearing a dress with slits across the breasts in order to feed her baby before she dashes off to the carriage waiting outside. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1796.
  • A 'dentiste' extracting the tooth of a large well dressed gentleman. Coloured mezzotint by J. Wilson after himself, 1773.
  • A foppish obstetrician with forceps in his pocket. Etching, 1772.
  • A grossly obese man supporting his stomach in a wheelbarrow, a young fop looks on. Etching by S. Ireland, 178-, after J.H. Mortimer.
  • A young woman being instructed to dance by an older woman, both of them dressed in extreme fashions, while a foreign dancing master accompanies them on the violin. Engraving, 1771.
  • Hordes of infirm people with crutches and wheelchairs making their way down the hill to Bath from the Royal Crescent. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson.
  • Hordes of infirm people with crutches and wheelchairs making their way down the hill to Bath from the Royal Crescent. Coloured etching by T. Rowlandson.
  • St Bartholomew's Hospital, London: the courtyard, with two figures on the right. Engraving by A. Smith.
  • Chelsea: viewed from the Surrey bank with boats on the river. Engraving, 1755, after J. Maurer.
  • Surgeons' Hall, Old Bailey, London, the facade, with various people in the street. Wood engraving.
  • Sadler's Wells Theatre, seen from across a field. Engraving.
  • Bagnigge Wells, London: two alluring, fashionably-dressed women, one plucking rosebuds. Mezzotint, 1780.
  • Sadler's Wells, as it was in 1737, with fashionable water-drinkers. Wood engraving, [post 1840].
  • The stairs at York Buildings, the Strand; in the background are the tower of the waterworks and Westminster Bridge. Engraving by I. Taylor, c.1780.
  • Royal College of Physicians, Warwick Lane, London: the courtyard with people in eighteenth century costume. Wood engraving by [W.H.P.].
  • Bagnigge Wells, London: a family group, the Dumplings, on a day out. Mezzotint.
  • Two physicians in "macaroni" fashions. Etching by J. Johnson after J.W.B. (Bretherton?), 1772.
  • The Royal Hospital, Chelsea: view of the north elevation with many people passing by. Coloured aquatint by T. Malton, 1800.
  • Royal College of Physicians, Warwick Lane, London: the interior of the Hall, during the examination of a candidate. Coloured aquatint by J. Bluck after T. Rowlandson and A. C. Pugin, 1808.