The Effect of Ethyl Alcohol on Growth, Fecundity and Voluntary Consumption of Alcohol by Mice

Abstract

Male and female mice of stock and of alcoholized parents were maintained on water or alcohol soln. from 12-15 mos. Alcohol had no adverse influence on the growth of the mice. There was no difference due to alcohol in the number of young born alive, in the birth wt. or the weaning wt.; however, alcohol had an adverse effect on the fertility of the male mice. The alcohol-raised mice, when given a free choice of water and alcohol soln., consumed less of the water and more absolute alcohol, as a proportion of their total fluid intake, than controls raised on water. Also, the offspring of alcohol-raised parents consumed more absolute alcohol than those of stock parents.