"Demerol, Newly Marketed as a Synthetic Substitute For Morphine, Ranks With Sulfa Drugs and Penicillin"
Newspaper article
By: The Wall Street Journal
Date: August 31, 1943
Source: "Demerol, Newly Marketed as a Synthetic Substitute For Morphine, Ranks With Sulfa Drugs and Penicillin." The Wall Street Journal, August 31, 1943.
Introduction
Pain has existed as long as creatures have had nervous systems. Humans have sought ways to reduce or eliminate pain for millennia. Painkillers fall into two categories: anti-inflammatory drugs, which reduce pain caused by inflammation, and opiates, such as opium, which affect the central nervous system. Many of the opiates that reduce pain are addictive and have effects on the central nervous system that reduce their safety.
Alcoholic spirits, although not strictly a painkiller, were given to those who had to undergo painful, sometimes excruciating, procedures or who suffered from painful injuries. Alcohol's primary effect...
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1940's Medicine and Health Primary Sources
The 1940's: Primary Sources
