The influence of liver volume and cigarette smoking on antipyrine clearance and metabolite formation was studied in seventeen volunteers (eight smokers, nine non-smokers). Inter-test coefficient of variation of liver volume (as determined by ultrasound) was 6.3%. The mean antipyrine clearance was 49.3 +/- 18.3 ml min-1 and when normalized for liver volume 36.1 +/- 10.1 ml min-1 l-1. The antipyrine clearance per unit volume of liver was significantly higher in smokers (43.0 +/- 10.5 ml min-1 l-1), than in non-smokers (30.0 +/- 4.6 ml min-1 l-1) (P less than 0.01). No significant difference was found between the two groups as to the excreted amounts of 4-hydroxyantipyrine (OHA), norantipyrine (NORA), and 3-hydroxymethylantipyrine (HMA). Normalized for liver volume the mean clearances for production (Clm) of these metabolites were significantly higher in the group of smokers than in the group of non-smokers. The greatest change was observed for OHA formation. However, analysis of variance showed that the differences in the percentages of change of the mean Clm of these metabolites in the two groups are not significant.