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opioid use disorder

in DSM–5, a diagnostic category reflecting disordered use of natural opioids (e.g., morphine), semisynthetic derivatives (e.g., heroin), and synthetic compounds with morphinelike effects (e.g., oxycodone). It combines DSM–IV–TR’s separate abuse and dependence diagnoses for these substances, thereby removing opioid abuse and opioid dependence as distinct entities. Mild, moderate, and severe cases of opioid use disorder are determined according to the number of symptoms that individuals using these substances may present (e.g., craving; drug-seeking behavor; social and other dysfunction caused by opioid use; tolerance; withdrawal, etc.); the number ranges from a minimum of two symptoms for mild cases to more than six for severe.

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Psychology term of the day

January 19th 2025

spinal cord

spinal cord

the part of the central nervous system that extends from the lower end of the medulla oblongata, at the base of the brain, through a canal in the center of the spine as far as the lumbar region. In transverse section, the cord consists of an H-shaped core of gray matter (see periaqueductal gray; anterior horn; dorsal horn) surrounded by white matter consisting of tracts of long ascending and descending nerve fibers on either side of the cord that are linked by the white commissure. The spinal cord is enveloped by the meninges and is the origin of the 31 pairs of spinal nerves. See also spinal root.