Summary. The effect of La 3+ ion on the hydrosmotic response of the frog urinary bladder to oxytocin has been studied. When added to the serosal medium, in the concentration range 10-4M to 10 -3 M, La 3+ inhibits the response to oxytocin, theophylline and cyclic-AMP, but not to hypertonicity. When added to the apical medium at a concentration greater than 5 x 10 -a M, La 3+ exhibits an inhibitory effect only during respective stimulation, either by hormone or by hypertonicity, but has no significant effect on the developed response. The significance of this particular mode of action is discussed in terms of possible electrical potential variations of the apical membrane during stimulation.It is well known that the action of the neurohypophysial hormones on the serosal side of the urinary bladder epithelium results in an increase in the water permeability of the apical membrane of the epithelial cells [5,9,12,13,15]. The mechanism of this action is not understood, although since the work of Handler and Orloff [8,[19][20][21] several of the intraceilular biochemical steps have been elucidated.While the mechanism by which the water permeability of the apical membrane itself is modified is unknown, hypotheses may be made concerning the possible structural transformation underlying the membrane permeability change.It is currently accepted, on the basis of evidence obtained on model systems and on biological membranes [7,23], that calcium plays an important role in maintaining the tight and ordered organization of biological membranes and therefore their low and selective permeability. It may be reasonably assumed that the apical membrane of epithelial ceils has similar