Studies were performed on proximal taenia coli and distal circular muscle from the rabbit to determine if the source of Ca2+ required for bethanechol stimulation of contraction was similar after permeabilizing the tissues with saponin. The EC50 for Ca2+ stimulation of contraction was pCa 6.1 +/- 0.1 for both tissues. The peak response occurred at pCa 4.5. The addition of 1 microM calmodulin did not alter the Ca2+ EC50 or the peak response. Caffeine (20 mM) stimulated contraction of both taenia coli and distal circular muscle. The caffeine-stimulated contractile response was threefold greater in the taenia than in the distal circular muscle (P less than 0.05). Perfusion of thin strips of colonic muscle with buffer, containing 10(-7) M Ca2+, reduced the amplitude of bethanechol-stimulated contraction. The perfusion time to reduce the contraction by 50% was greater in the proximal muscle (2.4 +/- 0.1 min) than in the distal muscle (1.1 +/- 0.5 min) (P less than 0.001). These data suggest that 1) the intracellular Ca2+ concentration necessary for contraction is similar in the proximal and distal colon and 2) the intracellular Ca2+ stores appear to be greater in proximal taenia coli compared with distal circular muscle.