Table 1.
Organ system effects of morphine and its surrogates. The actions summarized in this table are observed for all clinically available opioid agonists
Organ Systems |
Effects | Additional information |
---|---|---|
Central Nervous system |
↑ Analgesia | |
↑ Euphoria | leading to risk of addiction and abuse | |
↑Sedation | ||
↓ Rate of respiration | ||
↓ Cough reflex | Codeine used for treatment of pathological cough |
|
↑ Miosis-Constriction of the pupils | ||
↑ Truncal rigidity | Most apparent when using fentanyl, sufentanil, alfentanil |
|
↑ Nausea and vomiting | ||
Peripheral |
Gastrointestinal system |
|
↑ Constipation | ||
↓ Gastric motility | ||
↓ Digestion in the small intestine | ||
↓ Peristaltic waves in the colon | ||
↑ Constriction of biliary smooth muscle | ||
↑ Esophageal reflux | ||
Other smooth muscle |
||
↑ Depression of renal function | ||
↓ Uterine tone | ||
↑ Urinary retention | ||
Skin |
||
↑ Itching and sweating | ||
↑ Flushing of the face, neck and thorax | ||
Cardiovascular system |
||
↓ Blood pressure and heart rate if cardiovascular system is stressed |
||
Immune System |
||
↓ Formation of rosettes by human lymphocytes | ||
↓ Cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells | ||
Other |
||
Behavioral restlessness |