In smooth muscle, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) 2 exists as an extensive membrane network of tubules, flattened cisternae, and vesicles (1, 2) to comprise rough (RER, which carries ribosomes) and smooth (SER) reticula. RER predominates around the nucleus and is scattered throughout the cytoplasm and appears to be in luminal continuity with the SER (1, 3, 4). SER is found mainly near the cell surface to run in close apposition to the plasma membrane. In various tissues, changes in ER structure may occur at different developmental stages and when the cells experience prolonged activation (reviewed in Ref. 5). These changes may give the impression of a labile (pleiomorphic) ER network capable of modifications in structure and, consequently, function.The Ca 2ϩ storage element of the ER, the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), may be a specialized region of the SER that is endowed with those proteins responsible for the uptake (Ca 2ϩ pumps), storage (calsequestrin), and release ryanodine receptor ((RyR) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP 3 R)) of Ca 2ϩ (4, 6). The SR, by regulating the cytoplasmic Ca 2ϩ concentration ([Ca 2ϩ ] c ), plays a central role in Ca 2ϩ signaling to contribute to activities such as gene expression, growth, contraction, and cell death (reviewed in Refs. 7-10). In determining the qualitative nature of the biological response, the structural arrangement of the SR through the cell may be instrumental in enabling different functions to occur and proceed from various regions of the cell. For example, the SR, as a series of multiple, separate Ca 2ϩ -storage elements, each with their own limited measure of Ca 2ϩ , may explain localized all-or-none responses in restricted regions of the cell, the graded release of Ca 2ϩ from the SR in the "quantal" release process and the various sensitivities to IP 3 measured throughout the cell (11-15). Yet, whether or not the SR exists as multiple separate Ca 2ϩ storage units or as a single luminally continuous entity in which Ca 2ϩ diffuses freely throughout, is unclear.Evidence for the existence of multiple Ca 2ϩ storage units comes from the heterogeneity of the SR in its Ca 2ϩ handling capacity in smooth muscle (1, 4, 16). The SR near the center of the cells may be depleted less readily of its Ca 2ϩ than that of peripherally located SR (1) and x-ray microprobe analysis revealed Ca 2ϩ -rich spots in the central and peripheral SR in portal vein and taenia coli (17, 18). Calsequestrin was not uniformly distributed through the SR network but clustered preferentially at sites most often within the peripheral SR (4). These calsequestrin-rich elements of the SR were also enriched with IP 3 R (4). This evidence provides a morphological basis for the existence of various arrangements of Ca 2ϩ release channels. The SR Ca 2ϩ stores have been classified on the basis of the arrangement of IP 3 R and RyR and conflicting evidence exists regarding their number and receptor arrangement. To determine the organization of the SR Ca 2ϩ stores, in native cells, the predominant...