Morphine
MS ContinPubChem CID 5288826 · 3D model
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Activates the body's natural pain-relief switches in the brain and spinal cord, turning down how strongly pain signals are felt.
How it works
Morphine attaches to specific receptors, like docking stations, on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that are normally used by the body's own pain-control chemicals. When morphine locks onto these receptors, it blocks pain messages from reaching the brain and changes how unpleasant pain feels. The extended-release form releases the drug slowly, so it keeps working steadily over many hours instead of wearing off quickly. Because these same receptors also control breathing, morphine can slow breathing down, which is why it's used carefully and only when it's truly needed.
What it’s used for
Used for ongoing, severe pain that needs round-the-clock treatment and hasn't responded well enough to other pain medicines — not for occasional or mild pain, and not meant to be taken only as needed.
- Mechanism
- Mu-opioid receptor agonist
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Analgesic / Pain