Аннотация:The review deals with the mechanisms of action of opioids and the synthetic analogue of endogenous leuenkephaline dalargin. It discusses the relation of delta-opioid receptors to the phenomenon of pharmacological preconditioning that may explain the universal cytoprotective properties of dalargin observed in clinical observations. Key words: opioids, opioid receptors, pharmacological preconditioning, cytoprotection, dalargin.