The use of deuterium oxide (2H2O) is proposed as a freely diffusible nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) blood flow and tissue perfusion tracer of potential clinical utility. Deuterium is a stable, nonradiative isotope commercially available as 2H2O at enrichment levels of essentially 100%--i.e., 110 molar equivalent deuterium. This high concentration, together with the short relaxation time of the spin 1 (quadrupole) deuterium nuclide, provides substantial sensitivity for NMR spectroscopy. As a result, when 2H2O is administered in a bolus fashion to a specific tissue or organ in vivo, the deuterium NMR intensity time course can be analyzed, using mathematical models developed by others for radiolabeled tracers, to measure the rate of blood flow and tissue perfusion. Such an application is demonstrated herein at a static magnetic field of 8.5 tesla. Using single-compartment flow modeling, hepatic blood flow and tissue perfusion in fasted (18 hr) male Sprague-Dawley rats was determined to be 61 +/- 17 (mean +/- SD) ml/100 g per min (n = 5).