Morphine
Morphine was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, which is generally believed to be the first ever isolation of a natural plant alkaloid in history. Sertürner began distributing it in 1817, and Merck began marketing it commercially in 1827. At the time, Merck was a single small chemists' shop. Morphine was more widely used after the invention of the hypodermic syringe in 1857. Sertürner originally named the substance morphium after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus (Greek: Μορφεύς), for its tendency to cause sleep.[2] It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medications needed in a basic health system.[3]