On narcotized dogs the descending branch of the left coronary artery was ligated and the peripheral vascular bed embolized with microspheres. A maximal phar. macological dilatation was induced with carbochromen and dipyridamol and the pressure flow relation of the regional resistances within the coronary circulation investigated. An increase in the aortic pressure from 100 to 120 mmI-Ig decreased the total resistance of the circumflex branch by 6%. The precollateral resistance, however, which represents chiefly the resistance of large coronary vessels, at the same time increased by 8%.A decrease with increasing pressure was also shown by the nutritive resistance (chiefly resistance of small vessels and arteriols) and the collateral resistance (resistance of spontaneous collaterals). An increase in perfusion pressure from 70 to 90 mmHg diminished the nutritive resistance by 13% and the collateral resistance by 17%.In the course of an increase in aortic pressure, collateral flow decreased if the relationship precollateral resistance/postcollateral resistance (RJR~) on one hand and collateral resistance/nutritive resistance 1~/1~ on the other hand increased. Collateral flow, however, increased when the quotients RI/R 4 and R3/R 2 remained either unchanged or decreased, when aortic pressure was enhanced.From these results it can be concluded that not every increase in aortic pressure necessarily leads to an increase in collateral flow. A decrease in collateral flow, which can produce the steal phenomenon, can also develop in the follow of an increase in aortic pressure in as much as the regional resistances which influence collateral flow are changed correspondingly.The importance of the perfusion pressure for the blood flow in spontaneous collaterals has been repeatedly described (2,6,7, 11,13,17,18). In an earlier investigation on narcotized dogs with an acute infarct we *) The paper was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Sonderforschungsbereich 30, Dfisseldorf.