opium /ō″pē·əm/ [Gk, opion, poppy juice] , a milky exudate from the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum and Papaver album yielding 9.5% or more of anhydrous morphine. It is an opioid analgesic, a hypnotic, and an astringent. Opium contains several alkaloids, including codeine, morphine, and papaverine. See also codeine sulfate, morphine sulfate, opium tincture, papaverine hydrochloride, paregoric, codeine phosphate.
