The Dangers of Administering Morphine; Addiction, Respiratory Depression, and Other Minor Side Effects
Blake Rhoades
St. Clair County
Abstract
Morphine is a highly effective analgesic narcotic whose use dates back to 5000
B.C. It works by affecting the central nervous system and can cause harmful side effects.
These harmful side effects include respiratory depression, addiction, and other minor side
effects. A small side effect could be the loss of voluntary muscle control, such as the
sphincter. The key to administering morphine successfully is to insert enough of the drug
into the body to maintain a therapeutic amount of the drug, without causing harmful side
effects. One might use STELLA to compare the numbers at different times to see how to
administer the drug at a therapeutic level. STELLA shows that the amount of a drug in
the stomach decreases as the amount of drug in the bloodstream increases. STELLA
helps us understand the pharmokinetical process much better. There are several different
constants, such as bodyweight and metabolism, to consider when doing this. These
factors will determine the potency of the drug on the body. If the drug is not properly
administered the patient could die or suffer extreme side effects. It could even affect the
body after a long length of time. Physicians should look for these side effects closely.