The History of Opium: Please, You Must Follow These Instructions

Faculté des Sciences Examen anglais
Département SM L1/SM
Année : 2019/2020 Semestre 2
The History of Opium

The search for a safe, orally active, and non-addictive analgesic based on the opiate structure is one
of the oldest fields in medicinal chemistry, yet one where true success has proved elusive. Opioids is the
term used to cover all the synthetic, semi-synthetic, naturally occurring, and endogenous compounds that
interact with opioid receptors in the body.
It is important to appreciate that the opioids are not the only compounds which are of use in the relief
of pain: there are several other classes of analgesic, including aspirin. However, these compounds operate
by different mechanisms from those used by the opioids and are effective against different types of pain.
The first opioids were extracted from opium—the sticky exudate obtained from the opium poppy.
Opium is, perhaps, the oldest herbal medicine known to humanity and has been used for myriad afflictions.
It was particularly effective as a sedative and a treatment for diarrhea. By the 18th and 19th centuries,
preparations of opium known as laudanum had become extremely popular in Europe, not least in the
British Royal Navy where the concoction was used by ships’ surgeons as an analgesic and sedative.
Laudanum also proved to be one of the first examples of a drug taken for ‘recreational purposes’.
A number of famous nineteenth-century authors and poets are known to have taken the drug on a
regular basis, with several becoming addicted. Opium was also smoked in opium dens, which became
widespread around the world. A growing realization of the long- term problems associated with taking
opium led eventually to laws being introduced in the twentieth century that restricted its use to medical
and scientific purposes.
Opium contains a complex mixture of alkaloids. The principal alkaloid in the mixture, and the one
responsible for opium’s analgesic and sedative activity, is morphine. Pure morphine was first isolated in
1803. Because morphine was poorly absorbed orally, it was little used in medicine until the hypodermic
syringe was invented in 1853. Injecting the drug directly into the blood supply revealed that morphine
was a potent analgesic and sedative, and was far more effective than opium.
First name : ............................................................. Last name: ............................................................. Sec/gr : ....
PLEASE, YOU MUST FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS

- Each exam paper is done by 02, 03, 04 or 05 students
- The group of students must belong to the same "section" (1 or 2)
- You can send me the paper after having responded on it using PDF reader software (acrobat reader)
to [email protected]
- You can also send me back the paper, as an image (of good quality), after having printed it and
responded on it
- You must either highlight (yellow color) the good answer or encircle it
- With certain questions, you might search on the internet to find the right answer
- Obviously, a good answer is scored + 1; a wrong one is - 1
- Deadline : 30/10/20 at 08:00 am (morning). After the deadline, 2 points will be removed from the
total points
2/2
Choose (by encircling or highlighting) the correct answer(s)

1- The search for a non-addictive analgesic means that
A- the drug has to be as safe as possible
B- the patient must be completely recovered after having taken the drug
2- Heroin, chemical substance, could be classified as an
A- opioid substance
B- morphinic substance
3- An opioid receptor means that
A- the receptor is structurally related to morphine
B- an opioide has great affinity to this receptor
4- The mechanism of action of an opioid is different from that of aspirin because
A- aspirin and opioids receptors are different
B- aspirin and opioids have different structures
5- The physical property of opium is known as a
A- viscous fluid
B- white powder
6- Opium has been used to treat particularly
A- myriad of diseases
B- insomnia and anxiety
7- Opium became popular because it was used
A- as a laudanum
B- for enjoyement and agreeable moment
8- Dependance and tolerance to opium could be developped if people
A- take it for the first time
B- take it several times
9- Use of opium has been restricted to medical purposes because
A- it showed severe adverse effects with time
B- it became popular around the world
10- Opium is not categorized as a pure substance because
A- it is composed of morphine and other substances
B- it contains a mixture of natural compounds
11- Besides of its sedative effect
A- morphine is also a potent painkiller
B- morphine alkaloid also relieves pain
12- Opium is less effective than morphine because
A- morphine is injected directly into the blood
B- pure morphine reaches its target in more concentration than in the complex mixture
13- (a) This substance is especially good for treating constant pain, rather than sharp, periodic pain.
(b) Thus it decreases the brain’s awareness of pain. (c) Unfortunately, it has a large number of side effects
: depression of the respiratory centre, constipation, tolerance and dependence. (d) Morphine is still one
of the most effective painkillers available to medicine. (e) It acts mainly in the brain and appears to work
by elevating the pain. (f) It is currently the drug of choice in the treatment of severe pain.
The above randomely arranged sentences should be written as :
A- d / f / b / e / c / a
B- d / e / f /c / a / b
C- d / f / a / e / b / c

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Faculté des Sciences Examen anglais

The History of Opium

First name : ............................................................. Last name: ............................................................. Sec/gr : ....

First name : ............................................................. Last name: ............................................................. Sec/gr : ....

First name : ............................................................. Last name: ............................................................. Sec/gr : ....

First name : ............................................................. Last name: ............................................................. Sec/gr : ....

First name : ............................................................. Last name: ............................................................. Sec/gr : ....

PLEASE, YOU MUST FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS

Choose (by encircling or highlighting) the correct answer(s)

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