1. Chapter 10
10.1
Forensic Toxicology

2. Objectives
Explain how alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, transported throughout the body, and eliminated by oxidation and excretion.

3. Alcohol The most heavily abused drug in the US
40% traffic deaths (17,500) are alcohol related
Hospital treatment exceeds 2,000,000 persons per year

4. Toxicologists
Responsible for detecting and identifying the presence of drugs and poisons in body fluids, tissues, and organs
Services used in crime labs, medical examiner’s offices, and hospitals
Various systems exist across the country
Role limited to matters that pertain to violations of criminal law

5. Toxicology of Alcohol
Ethyl alcohol is a colorless liquid diluted with water
Logically most obvious measure of intoxication would be amount of liquor consumed but such information is not normally available to law enforcement

6. many factors influence intoxication level - i. e
many factors influence intoxication level - i.e. body weight, rate of alcohol absorption in body
Alcohol is a depressant, primarily effecting the central nervous system and brain

7. Effect is proportional to concentration of alcohol in nerve cells
Most susceptible areas = forebrain
Later functions of central and rear brain affected
Most resistant and last to fail is brain’s medulla
Regulates vital functions of respiration and heart activity

8. Toxicologists focus attention on concentration in blood as blood provides the medium for circulation of alcohol through the body
Blood alcohol levels are directly proportional to the concentration in the brain

9. Alcohol appears in blood moments after consumed
Concentration increases as alcohol is absorbed from stomach and small intestine into blood stream

10. Rate of alcohol absorption into the bloodstream depends on:
Time taken to consume the drink
Alcohol content of the beverage
Amount consumed
Quantity and type of food consumed at the time of drinking

11. Absorption process completed usually 30-90 minutes after final drink
Absorption process is difficult to predict
Alcohol enters blood and is carried to all parts of the body
Distributed uniformly in water portions of body
Low content in fat, bones, and hair

12. Post-mortem examinations use water-rich organs and fluids to determine alcohol content
Brain, cerebrospinal fluid, vitreous humor

13. 10.1 Questions – answer on a sheet of notebook paper
What is the most widely abused drug in Western countries?
What is a toxicologist?
Name three settings in which a toxicologist often works.
Name at least three factors that influence the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream.
In what parts of the body does alcohol tend to accumulate?
Why does it accumulate in these places?