Non-Flash Interactive Body
Introduction
Virtually every organ system is affected by alcohol. Drinking in
moderation may cause problems to one's body, and drinking heavily
over the years can cause irreversible damage. However, most diseases
caused by excessive drinking can be prevented. Examples of alcohol's
effect on organ function are shown below.
Liver
Even moderate social drinkers can experience liver damage. Diseases
such as "fatty liver," hepatitis, or cirrhosis can develop from
heavy alcohol consumption.
"Fatty liver" is the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease.
In this condition, liver cells become swollen with fat globules
and water. If drinking is stopped at this point however, the liver
is capable of healing itself.
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which causes soreness
and swelling. Hepatitis can be caused by many things, such as drinking
too much alcohol and taking some medications. Viruses are also a
cause for hepatitis. Advanced liver damage makes it difficult for
your body to break down waste products (such as bilirubin) in your
blood, therefore causing jaundice, a condition where your skin turns
a yellow-orange color. Waste products in the bloodstream can also
cause itching, nausea, fever, and body aches.
Another serious liver disease is cirrhosis that can develop by
exposure to harmful chemicals. However, the most common cause of
cirrhosis in this country is drinking too much alcohol. This is
better known as alcoholic cirrhosis. Alcoholic cirrhosis causes
the cells of the liver to be damaged beyond repair. As liver cells
die, scar tissue forms. When this scar tissue builds up, blood can't
flow through the liver properly.
Normally, toxins and wastes in the blood get filtered (cleaned)
out when blood passes through the liver. If scar tissue keeps blood
from flowing normally through the liver, the blood doesn't get filtered.
Toxins and wastes can build up in the body. This can lead to mental
confusion, agitation, or tremors (shaking). In serious cases it
can even lead to coma. Once scarring has progressed, nothing can
be done to repair the liver or cure cirrhosis. Treatment is aimed
at avoiding further damage to the liver and preventing and treating
complications such as bleeding from broken blood vessels. Liver
transplantation is the only option.
More than 25,000 Americans die each year from chronic liver disease.
Experts say that about 70 percent are due, at least in part, to
alcohol abuse. Transplants, an effective treatment for diseased
livers, are not easy to come by, especially if you are currently
drinking.
Heart
The heart has the important job of getting oxygen to every cell
in the body. Accomplishing this task is not that easy for such a
small organ, as it weighs between 7 and 15 ounces.
Some research has indicated that having some alcohol can provide
health benefits to the heart. However, drinking alcohol, even in
moderation, can create health risks such as a slight rise in blood
pressure. High blood pressure associated with heavy drinking makes
the heart work harder than it needs to and can be a key risk factor
for coronary heart disease, leading to heart attacks and strokes.
In addition, with increased intake of alcohol, levels of some fats
in the blood can become elevated (high blood triglycerides), which
could cause heart problems.
Excessive drinking of alcohol (binge drinking) can also lead to
stroke and other serious health problems. These other problems can
include cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle), cardiac arrhythmia
(abnormal contraction patterns of the heart) and sudden cardiac
death.
Stomach
The stomach is designed to process and transport food. Ingesting
healthy foods makes this organ run smoothly.
After ingestion, alcohol travels down the esophagus into the stomach,
where some of it is absorbed into your bloodstream. The unabsorbed
alcohol continues to move through the gastrointestinal tract. The
majority of it will enter the small intestine and get absorbed into
the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine, or it
can stay in the stomach and cause irritation.
While in the stomach, alcohol acts as an irritant and increases
digestive juices (hydrochloric acid) that are secreted from the
stomach lining. Intoxicating amounts of alcohol can halt the digestive
process, robbing the body of vital vitamins and minerals. Chronic
irritation may lead to damage to the lining of the stomach.
Drinking alcohol and taking medication that causes stomach irritation,
such as aspirin, can cause gastritis (inflammation of the stomach
lining), ulcers, and severe bleeding.
Brain
The human brain is like a command center for the body. It alerts
body parts and organs when something should happen and how to react.
It only takes about 30 seconds for the first amounts of alcohol
to reach the brain after ingestion. Once there, alcohol acts primarily
on nerve cells deep in the brain.
The most highly developed part of the brain is the cerebral cortex,
which encompasses about two-thirds of the brain mass and lies over
and around most of the remaining structures of the brain. It is
responsible for thinking, reasoning, perceiving, and producing and
understanding language. The cerebral cortex is divided into specific
areas involved in vision, hearing, touch, movement, and smell. The
nerves in these parts of the brain talk to each other by electrical
impulses that are enabled by neurotransmitters.
Alcohol acts as a depressant to the central nervous system and
causes some neurotransmitters to become inhibited. Judgement and
coordination, two processes of the central nervous system, become
impaired.
Heavy drinking can inhibit the firing of the nerve cells that control
breathing, a condition known as respiratory depression. This condition
can be fatal. Even if the inhibition of the respiratory nerve cells
does not cause death, drinking excessive alcohol may cause vomiting.
When drunk and unconscious, a person may inhale fluids that have
been vomited, resulting in death by asphyxiation.
Research now shows that significant brain development continues
through adolescence. Therefore, alcohol may have quite different
toxic effects on adolescent brains than on those of adults. Heavy
alcohol use can impair brain function in adolescents, and it is
unclear at present whether the damage is reversible.
Conclusion
Alcohol's effects on the body are numerous. To find out more information
on alcohol and issues related to college drinking, please visit
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/students/anatomy/www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov
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