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PLANTS IN DENTISTRY SERIES: PAPAVER SOMNIFERUM (MORPHINE)
The cover images in volume 218 all feature botanical illustrations of plants and trees with a connection to dentistry some from the past and a selection still used in present times. This issue features the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). Of course, as its name suggests, the opium poppy is the source of many opiate drugs including morphine and codeine. Opiates are widely prescribed as analgesics in medicine and dentistry. Australia, Turkey and India are the major producers of poppy for medicinal purposes.