October 27, 2015

Detection and General Deterrence Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course Getting the ethanol out of the stomach and into the blood Absorption of Alcohol

Session 2 – Detection and General Deterrence
Standardized Field Sobriety Test Course
Getting the ethanol
out of the stomach
and into the blood
Absorption of Alcohol
2-46
Stomach
Walls Stomach
Walls
Stomach
Walls
Pylorus
80 percent
20 percent
Once the ethanol gets into the stomach, it has to move into the blood. The process by
which this happens is known as absorption. One very important fact that pertains to
alcohol absorption is that it doesn't have to be digested in order to move from the
stomach to the blood.
Another very important fact is that alcohol can pass directly through the walls of the
stomach. These two facts, taken together, mean that, under the right circumstances,
absorption of alcohol can be accomplished fairly quickly. The ideal circumstance for
rapid absorption is to drink on an empty stomach.
When the alcohol enters the empty stomach, about 20 % of it will make its way directly
through the stomach walls. The remaining 80 % will pass through the stomach and
enter the small intestine, from which it is readily absorbed into the blood. Because the
body doesn't need to digest the alcohol before admitting it into the bloodstream, the
small intestine will be open to the alcohol as soon as it hits the stomach.
But what if there is food in the stomach? Suppose the person has had something to eat
shortly before drinking, or eats food while drinking; will that affect the absorption of
alcohol?
Yes it will. Food has to be at least partially digested in the stomach before it can pass to
the small intestine. When the brain senses that food is in the stomach, it commands a
muscle at the base of the stomach to constrict, and cut off the passage to the small
intestine. The muscle is called the pylorus, or pyloric valve. As long as it remains
constricted, little or nothing will move out of the stomach and into the small intestine. If
alcohol is in the stomach along with the food, the alcohol will also remain trapped
behind the pylorus. Some of the alcohol trapped in the stomach will begin to break
down chemically before it ever gets into the blood. In time, as the digestive process
continues, the pylorus will begin to relax, and some of the alcohol and food will pass
through. But the overall effect will be to slow the absorption significantly. Because the
alcohol only slowly gets into the blood, and because the body will continue to process
and eliminate the alcohol that does manage to get in there, the drinker's BAC will not
climb as high as it would have if he or she had drunk on an empty stomach.
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HS 178 R5/13 32 of 39Source: DWI Detection and
Standardized Field
Sobriety Testing
March 2013 Edition

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