A synthetic opioid pain medication that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine, used for severe pain management in medical settings. It has become a major concern in the opioid crisis due to its high overdose potential.
Named by Belgian chemist Paul Janssen who first synthesized it in 1958, combining 'phenyl' and 'piperidine' chemical groups with the suffix '-anil.' The name reflects its chemical structure rather than any natural origin.
Fentanyl is so potent that a dose the size of a few grains of salt can be lethal - that's why it's often delivered through patches that release tiny amounts slowly through the skin. In hospitals, it's invaluable for surgery and severe pain, but illicitly manufactured fentanyl has become tragically common in street drugs, often without users' knowledge, making overdoses unpredictably deadly.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.