Morphine concentration in brain and spinal cord after subarachnoid morphine injection in baboons.

Tritium-labeled morphine was injected into the lumbar (L4-5) subarachnoid space of three baboons. The animals were sacrificed 3, 6, and 24 hr thereafter. Morphine concentrations were measured at five predetermined positions within the spinal cord, medulla oblongata, and frontal lobes of the brain by scintillation-count assay. The results revealed that morphine ascends in the subarachnoid space and is absorbed into the spinal cord and medulla oblongata in a time-dependent fashion. Ventilation was most depressed and maximal concentrations of morphine were detected in the medulla six hours after injection. Delayed respiratory depression, occasionally reported after intraspinal morphine injection, may therefore be caused as a result of the affinity of morphine for binding sites, possibly opiate receptors, situated within the vital respiratory and cardiovascular neuronal complexes of the medulla.