Opioid
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Opioids is a name for chemical substances that act like morphine in the human body. They are mainly used as analgetics, that is to relieve pain. Some are also used as illegal drugs.
There are four classes of opioids
- Those produced naturally in the human body. These are endogenous peptides
- opium alkaloids, such as morphine and codeine
- Semi-synthetic opioids, such as heroin and oxycodone
- Fully syntthetic opioids, such as pethidine and methadone
The term Opiate is sometimes used as a synonym. Most often it is used to refer to opium alcaloids, and semi-synthetic opioids.