Alcohol and the Human BodyAlcohol is a general term denoting a family of organic chemicals with common properties. Members of this family include ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, and others. Alcohol (ethanol) is a clear, volatile liquid that burns (oxidizes) easily. It has a very slight, characteristic odor and is very soluble in water. When a police officer states he / she smell the odor of alcohol, they are really smelling the other substances in alcoholic drinks or by-products of alcohol metabolism. Alcohol is an organic compound composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen; its chemical formula is C2H5OH. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. The central nervous system, which is the part of the body that is most severely affected by alcohol. The degree to which the central nervous system function is impaired is directly proportional to the concentration of alcohol in the body. When ingested, alcohol passes into the stomach where it is partially absorbed. The rate at which absorption of alcohol occurs is in part determined by the contents of the stomach. Consumption of water and food affect the absorption rate in the stomach. Then the alcohol passes from the stomach to the small intestine, where it is more rapidly absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body. The absorption rate in the small intestine is less affected by the contents of the intestine, however it does have some effect on absorption rate. Because it is distributed so quickly and thoroughly the alcohol can affect the central nervous system even in small concentrations. In low concentrations, alcohol reduces inhibitions. As blood alcohol concentration increases, a person's response to stimuli decreases markedly, speech becomes slurred, and he or she becomes unsteady and has trouble walking. With very high concentrations - greater than 0.35 grams/100 milliliters of blood (equivalent to 0.35 grams/210 liters of breath) - a person can become comatose and die. The American Medical Association has defined the blood alcohol concentration level of impairment for all people to be 0.04 grams/100 milliliters of blood (equivalent to .04 grams/210 liters of breath). It should always be kept in mind that everyone is different. The degree of impairment of any individual involves several factors and only one of those is alcohol level in the blood.
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