Angiotensin II causes marked stimulation of drinking when it is injected centrally but is a relatively weak dipsogen when administered intravenously. However, it has been proposed that the dipsogenic action of systemically administered angiotensin II may be counteracted by the pressor action of the peptide. To test this hypothesis, the dipsogenic action of angiotensin II was investigated in dogs, in which low and high baroreceptor influences had been eliminated by denervation of the carotid sinus, aortic arch, and heart. In five sham-operated dogs, infusion of angiotensin II at 10 and 20 ng.kg-1.min-1 increased plasma angiotensin II concentration to 109.2 +/- 6.9 and 219.2 +/- 38.5 pg/ml and mean arterial pressure by 20 and 29 mmHg, respectively, but did not induce drinking. In four baroreceptor-denervated dogs, the angiotensin II infusions produced similar increases in plasma angiotensin II concentration and mean arterial pressure but, in contrast to the results in the sham-operated dogs, produced a dose-related stimulation of drinking. Water intake with the low and high doses of angiotensin II was 111 +/- 44 and 255 +/- 36 ml, respectively. The drinking responses to an increase in plasma osmolality produced by infusion of hypertonic sodium chloride were not different in the sham-operated and baroreceptor-denervated dogs. These results demonstrate that baroreceptor denervation increases the dipsogenic potency of intravenous angiotensin II and provides further support for the hypothesis that the dipsogenic action of intravenous angiotensin II is counteracted by the rise in blood pressure.