SOME NEW ASPECTS OF MORPHINE ACTION EFFECT ON INTESTINE AND BLOOD PRESSURE; TOXICITY STUDIES

¹ From the Laboratories of Physiology and Pharmacology of Baylor Medical School, Dallas, Texas, and the Laboratory of Pharmacology, State University of Iowa Medical School, Iowa City, Iowa

1. Eserine potentiates the action of morphine on the gut by making small ineffective doses effective.

2. The increased tonus seen with the combination of Eserine and morphine is not as great as with morphine alone, since the peristaltic waves are not reduced so completely; neither does the effect last as long.

3. Eserine potentiates the action of morphine in lowering cats' blood pressure.

4. Toxicity studies on white rats indicate a potentiating effect of these drugs since one-half the minimum fatal dose of each when given together kills more animals than the minimum fatal dose of either when given alone.

5. It is believed that morphine acts through a cholinergic mechanism to produce these results.