The relationship between urine flow and urinary prostaglandin E (PGE) excretion was investigated at constant urine pH in the anaesthetized rat. The urine pH was maintained at approximately pH 6 or pH 8 by the intravenous infusion of either ammonium chloride or sodium bicarbonate respectively. Two distinct patterns in the relationship between PGE excretion and urine flow were observed. The first showed a fall in urinary PGE excretion as the urine flow increased over the low flow range of 2-5 ml/h, and was common to both experiments. The second relationship, however, showed a marked difference between the ammonium chloride and sodium bicarbonate experiments since: (a) in acidic urine (pH 6), PGE excretion increased (P less than 0.002) with the urine flow, attaining a rate of 87 +/- 6 pmol/h (n = 6) at the highest level of flow achieved (12 ml/h); (b) in alkaline urine (pH 8), PGE excretion was significantly (P less than 0.01) higher but did not increase with urine flow, remaining constant at approximately 90 pmol/h (n = 6). The lack of any additive effect on urinary PGE excretion between increasing the urine flow and making the urine alkaline may be explained by both stimuli acting through a common mechanism, a concept which is consistent with the hypothesis that PGE may be reabsorbed in the distal nephron. The flow-dependency of urinary PGE excretion could therefore result from a reduction in reabsorption rather than the increase in passive secretion proposed previously.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)