To determine residual flow to ischaemic tissue, which is the primary determinant of the rate of development and ultimate size of the myocardial infarct resulting from coronary artery occlusion, the coronary collateral circulation was quantified during acute myocardial ischaemia in eight species in vivo using the radiolabelled microsphere technique. In each case, a prominent branch of the left coronary artery was ligated, and within 5 min microspheres (141Ce labelled, 15 micron diameter) were injected intra-atrially. Hearts were then excised, frozen, and sliced perpendicular to the septum. Using autoradiograms as a guide, tissue samples were obtained from non-ischaemic and ischaemic tissue and the radioactivity of the ischaemic samples measured and expressed as a percentage of the activity in the non-ischaemic myocardium. In the guinea pig heart, despite ligation of a major artery, no zone of significant underperfusion was detected. In the hearts from other species, coronary collateral flow (as a percentage (mean(SEM)) of non-ischaemic flow) was: dog 15.9(1.8) (n = 6); cat 11.8(1.1) (n = 16); rat 6.1(0.7) (n = 6); ferret 2.4(0.6) (n = 6); baboon 2.1(0.3) (n = 6); rabbit 2.0(0.5) (n = 9); pig 0.6(0.2) (n = 6). The dog and cat hearts both possessed transmural gradients of collateral flow with greatest delivery in the epicardium. The patterns of flow distribution in the guinea pig heart were further examined in a Langendorff perfused preparation. Blue dye was injected into the coronary circulation and its distribution over 5 s recorded on cine film. After ligation of the left anterior descending or circumflex arteries, or both, the perfusion field of these arteries was seen to fill retrogradely within seconds. It is concluded that a wide spectrum of collateral flow exists between various mammalian species, a fact that should be taken into account in the study of the pathophysiology and control of regional ischaemia and myocardial infarction.