468 
Conversion  of  Moyyhla  into  Codeia. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm.. 
t      Sept.,  1881. 
cient  to  confirm  afresh  the  identity  of  the  two  codeias,  already  demon- 
strated by  an  investigation  of  the  crystalline  form  and  chemical  pro- 
perties. 
The  difficulty  in  obtaining  considerable  yields  of  codeia  arises,  as 
mentioned,  from  the  rapidity  with  which  the  iodide  of  methyl  unites 
by  addition  to  the  morphia  and  codeia.  In  trying  the  action  upon 
these  bases  of  iodide  of  ethyl,  I  found  that  this  only  unites  directly 
with  extreme  slowness.  It  therefore  seemed  probable  that  if  iodide  of 
ethyl  were  made  to  react  upon  morphia- soda,  an  ethylated  morphia 
would  be  obtained,  homologous  with  codeia,  of  which  the  yield 
would  be  more  advantageous,  and  this  in  fact  was  what  occurred. 
In  operating  with  iodide  of  ethyl,  in  the  same  way  as  previously 
with  iodide  of  methyl,  there  was  extracted  a  new  base,  CigllgglN^Os,  a 
homologue  of  codeia,  which  represents  the  ethylic  ether  of  morphia 
considered  as  a  ]3henol ;  the  yield  was  from  40  to  45  per  cent,  of  the 
morphia  used.  The  new  base  was  obtained  crystallized  with  1  mole- 
cule of  water,  in  beautiful  hard  brilliant  lamella?,  a  little  less  soluble 
in  boiling  water  than  codeia  (requiring  35  to  40  times  its  weight  of 
water),  very  soluble  in  ether  and  in  alcohol.  It  fuses  at  83°C.  into  a 
limpid  liquid  which  does  not  crystallize  upon  solidifying,  but  forms  a 
colorless  transparent  vitreous  mass  ;  at  100°C.  it  undergoes  alteration, 
becoming  brown ;  it  is  precipitated  from  its  salts  by  potash  and  the 
alkaline  carbonates,  but  is  not  precipitated  by  ammonia.  The  hydro- 
chlorate  occurs  in  fine  needles  grouped  in  mamelons. 
Codeia  is  therefore  a  methylic  ether  of  morphia,  and  from  morphia 
may  be  obtained  a  series  of  new  bases,  of  which  codeia  is  the  type  and 
morphia  the  substratum,  as  numerous  as  the  series  of  ethers  of  an 
alcohol. 
These  bases  being  analogous  to  codeia,  I  would  propose  to  give 
them  the  generic  name  of  codeines  ;  these  codeines  would  be  the  ethers 
of  morphia.  The  methylic  ether  is  the  codomethyline,  or,  more  sim- 
ply, the  codeine;  the  homologue  just  described  is  the  ether  of  the 
ethylic  series,  codetliyline. 
I  intend  to  prepare  some  other  bodies  of  this  series,  which  it  appears 
to  me  should  furnish  subjects  of  investigation  interesting  to  physiolo- 
gists, and  perhaps  new  resources  for  therapeutics.  M.  Bochefontaine 
has  experimented  with  codethyline  and  found  that  it  is  toxic  in  small 
doses  and  has  a  tetanizing  action.    It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  base,. 
