Home > Terms > English (EN) > alcohol’s path through the body

alcohol’s path through the body

Bloodstream is the blood circulating through a person’s body. When alcohol is swallowed, small amounts directly enter the bloodstream through capillaries (tiny blood vessels) in the mouth. In the stomach, close to 20 percent of alcohol can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream. The remaining 80 percent passes to the small intestines where it is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Once in the bloodstream, alcohol rapidly spreads through the entire body. Within 3 minutes of beverage alcohol consumption. The brain accurately determines the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. A breathalyzer accurately measures a person’s blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC- is the percentage of alcohol absorbed into the bloodstream) by testing his or her breath.

The liver metabolizes alcohol at a constant rate- about one drink per hour. Un-metabolized alcohol continues to circulate through the bloodstream and can affect the drinker’s mood and behavior.

Alcohol is classified as a depressant. Some of the ways it affects the body are by-

- Depressing various brain functions.

- Alcohol is absorbed from all parts of the gastrointestinal tract. It passes from the blood into nearly every tissue in the body, including the brain.

- Alcohol is a diuretic, helping the body lose fluids and cause thirst.

- Alcohol is a vasodilator, causing the small blood vessels on the surface of the skin to dilate or swell, making the body lose heat.

Thus Alcohol in a human body can cause:

- Relaxed Inhibitions. An inhibition is a mental or psychological process that retrains or suppresses a person’s emotions, actions or thoughts.

- Hypoglycemia- a decrease of sugar in the blood.

- Digestive Changes- alcohol initially increases the appetite, but eventually decreases it.

In addition to the physical problems alcohol can cause there are also Behavioral Signs Of Alcohol Absorption. These include-

-	Significant Changes in Behavior.

-	Relaxed Inhibitions

-	Impaired Judgment.

-	Slowed Reaction Time

-	Impaired Motor Coordination.

0
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...

Featured Terms

Zhangjie
  • 0

    Terms

  • 7

    Blossaries

  • 5

    Followers

Industry/Domain: People Category: Politicians

Jinping Xi

Widely expected to become the next leader of the People's Republic of China, Jinping Xi currently serves as the country's Vice President, top-ranking ...

Contributor

Featured blossaries

10 Hot Holiday Destinations

Category: Education   1 10 Terms

Best Ballet Companies for 2014

Category: Arts   1 1 Terms

Browers Terms By Category