Tramadol is an atypical opioid which is a centrally acting analgesic, used for treating moderate to severe pain.
Tramadol is a synthetic agent, as a 4-phenyl-piperidine analogue of codeine, and appears to have actions on the GABAergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic systems.
Tramadol was developed by the German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal GmbH in the late 1970s and marketed under the trade name Tramal.