A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or blood alcohol level (BAL) reflects the amount of alcohol in the body. Food, type and quantity of beverage, weight, sex, and rate of elimination determine the BAC after the consumption of alcohol.
The process of oxygen transfer in the gills of a fish is a good example of the benefits of countercurrent exchange. As oxygen poor blood meets an opposed flow of oxygen rich water, the oxygen begins to diffuse out of the water and into the blood stream.
A countercurrent mechanism system is a mechanism that expends energy to create a concentration gradient. It is found widely in nature and especially in mammalian organs. For example, it can refer to the process that is underlying the process of urine concentration, that is, the production of hyperosmotic urine by the mammalian kidney.