This study examines the plasma pharmacokinetics of bupivacaine and morphine and the urinary excretion of morphine administered for spinal anesthesia for cesarean section. Patients received 12 mg of hyperbaric bupivacaine and 0.6 mg of morphine with either 0.2 mL of normal saline (plain, n = 15) or 0.2 mg of epinephrine (n = 15). Venous blood and urine were collected at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h. Total and unconjugated morphine (UCM) in plasma and urine were measured using radioimmunoassay, and plasma bupivacaine was measured by gas chromatography. Results were expressed as mean +/- SE and analyzed using Student's t-test at P less than 0.05. In the epinephrine group, plasma bupivacaine peaked at 15 min and remained approximately 30% higher (P less than 0.05) at 0.25, 0.5, and 1 h than in the plain group, which peaked at 30 min. Although UCM peaked at 3 h in both groups, the plasma levels remained approximately 66% lower in the epinephrine group. In the epinephrine group, bupivacaine had a smaller volume of distribution at steady state, and morphine had a more rapid clearance, shorter t1/2 beta, and smaller area under the curve compared with the plain group (P less than 0.05). Only 45% +/- 5% and 31% +/- 3% of morphine was recovered in the urine in the plain and epinephrine group, respectively (P less than 0.05). In conclusion, epinephrine added to a bupivacaine-morphine mixture increases the initial systemic uptake of bupivacaine and decreases the absorption and urinary excretion of morphine from the intrathecal space.