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The effects of intra-arterial injections and infusions of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and isoproterenol on gastric blood flow were studied in anesthetized baboons. Blood flow was measured electromagnetically before and after adrenergic blockade. The results for injected epinephrine and norepinephrine indicate these agents to be pure vasoconstrictors in the primate gastric circulation, and this response is attenuated by alpha-adrenergic blockade with phenoxybenzamine. Isoproterenol is a pure vasodilator, and its response is attenuated following beta-adrenergic blockade with propranolol. Intra-arterial infusions of epinephrine and norepinephrine (.05 mug kg-1 min-1) resulted in sustained vasoconstriction with no evidence of autoregulatory escape and no postinfusion "over-shoot." This study suggests that epinephrine and norepinephrine might provide alternatives to vasopressin as a vasoconstrictor for the control of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.