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Breath Alcohol Concentration

Meaning

Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC) is a clinical metric that quantifies the amount of ethanol vapor present in a measured volume of exhaled breath, serving as a non-invasive proxy for the concentration of ethanol in the systemic blood. This measurement relies on the principle of equilibrium partitioning of alcohol between the blood and the alveolar air in the lungs, providing a rapid and clinically relevant index of intoxication. BrAC is directly related to the systemic metabolic load and its subsequent impact on neuroendocrine function.