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The Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse and Addiction

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The Pharmacology of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse and Addiction

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Abstract

It is important that physicians know in detail the medical complications of alcoholism. However, as important as medical sequelae can be, the majority of alcoholics escape medical consequences. The minority of alcoholics who have medical consequences appear to represent chronic, long–time consumers or have a idiosyncratic reaction to the effects of alcohol (1,2,3).The medical consequences are related to a host of organ systems in the body. Ethanol is water soluble and reaches virtually every cell that is bathed by water. The toxic effects of ethanol on the body are both direct and indirect. Studies have confirmed that ethanol produces direct toxic damage to organs, for example, brain and muscle, and also influences the development of deficiency states through malnutrition or metabolic derangement (4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cornell University Medical College, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, 21 Bloomingdale Road, 10605, New York, USA

    Norman S. Miller M.D.

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  1. Norman S. Miller M.D.
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© 1991 Springer-Verlag New York

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Miller, N.S. (1991). The Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse and Addiction. In: The Pharmacology of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse and Addiction. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3044-1_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3044-1_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7774-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3044-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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