A newly developed probe was used to measure in vivo axial forces in the rectum-anal canal of the anesthetized cat. Spontaneous contractions of the smooth muscle of the internal anal sphincter were recorded, as were neurally evoked contractions of striated muscle of the external anal sphincter. Bilateral electrical stimulation (1-10 V, 1-5 Hz, 0.05 ms duration) of motor axons in pudendal nerves elicited two responses. One was synchronous phasic contractions of skeletal muscle fibers of the external anal sphincter that were not abolished by atropine but were by gallamine trithiodide. They occurred at short latencies (1-2 ms) and were mediated through low-threshold (1-3 V, 0.05 ms duration) efferent axons in the pudendal nerves. Contraction times ranged from 45 to 60 ms, and contraction duration ranged from 100 to 160 ms. The second response was a progressive elevation in tone of the anal canal due to contractions either of the smooth muscle of the rectum and/or that of the internal anal sphincter. The elevation in smooth muscle tone concomitant with pudendal nerve stimulation may be due to reflex activation of cholinergic neural pathways, since the response was abolished by atropine.