Alcoholism is the term commonly attributed to those who abuse alcoholic beverages. In reference to its enormous importance in the health field, alcoholism was already included in 1980 among the abuse syndromes described in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" - currently in the fourth edition (DSM-IV); initially, this disorder was framed as "alcohol abuse and dependence" and only later was the wording corrected to "alcohol (ethanol) syndrome and addiction".
In fact, alcoholism is a pathological syndrome in all respects; it represents a set of symptoms and clinical signs generated by systemic impairment of the organs which, following chronic ethyl alcohol intoxication, lose functionality and anatomical integrity.
In subjects suffering from alcoholism, the acute or chronic intake of ethanol is distinguished from the ordinary by the large quantities, and the compulsive attitude.
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