fyi-oxycodone and its uses, page-2

It's slightly better tolerated than morphine as the oxycodone is broken down to yield oxymorphone (in addition to alpha and beta isomers of oxycodol which become hydroxydihydromorphine).

The oxymorphone is an analgesic in its own right (ex-vivo is partially synthetic and a genuine german invention!)

The hydroxy-dihydromorphine does the job of morphine, activating similar receptors to give pain relief, but the gentle addition of a little electron and a hydroxyl molecule has made all the difference in terms of side effect profile...