Absorption of irrigating solution may complicate transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), and a system which warns of fluid overload reliably would be of benefit in the prevention of these complications. Fluorescein can easily be detected at very low concentrations in blood and can be added to the irrigating solution in amounts invisible to the naked eye, providing a possible means of easily monitoring the absorption of irrigant solution during TURP. To test this hypothesis, the plasma concentration of fluorescein was determined at intervals after intraperitoneal injection in rats. Although the published data on fluorescein suggest that it meets the criteria for a suitable marker substance to be introduced into the irrigant solution, the results show that plasma fluorescein is constant and not dose related. The addition of fluorescein to the irrigant solution would not provide a quantitative means of determining the volume of irrigant absorbed. The use of other substances may provide the answer to this major clinical problem. We have defined a set of criteria which such a substance should fulfil.