[Ethanol clearance in the integrated tissue space].

Interchange of ethanol between the compartments of the body results from transport in a linked convection-diffusion system. This system can be described mathematically by dividing up the cardiac output in a shunt flow and a flow immediately mixed into the integrated solvent volume of the body. Experimental measurement shows that the ratio of shunt flow and mixing flow is nearly 1:1. Furthermore, this division allows a calculation of the arterial ethanol concentration from the venous one and an estimation of the quantity of ethanol diffused into the tissue volume.