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 needle in 1857. Sertürner originally named the substance morphium after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus (Greek: ΜορφεПЌς), for its tendency to cause sleep. It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system.