To evaluate the effects of parathyroid hormone and cyclic adenosine monophosphate on proximal tubular sodium and phosphate reabsorption, micropuncture studies were performed on dogs that received a highly purified preparation of parathyroid hormone (PTH), dibutyryl cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP), 5'-AMP, and saline. PTH resulted in a 30-40% inhibition of sodium and phosphate reabsorption in the proximal tubule unassociated with a rise in either total kidney or single nephron glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The bulk of the phosphate rejected proximally was excreted in the final urine while sodium excretion rose minimally despite the marked proximal inhibition, consistent with the presence of reabsorptive sites in the distal nephron for sodium but not phosphate. The infusion of dibutyryl cyclic AMP either systemically or directly into the renal artery inhibited proximal sodium and phosphate reabsorption in the absence of changes in either total kidney or single nephron GFR, resembling the effects of PTH quantitatively and qualitatively. In contrast, another adenine nucleotide, 5'-AMP, did not inhibit the reabsorption of either sodium or phosphate. These observations support the thesis that renal effects of PTH are mediated via stimulation of renal cortical adenyl cyclase. The infusion of a moderate saline load, 25 ml/kg, also produced a similar inhibition of proximal tubular fractional sodium and phosphate reabsorption with a marked phosphaturia but only minimal natriuresis. Thus, changes in sodium and phosphate reabsorption occur in parallel in the proximal tubule when sodium reabsorption is inhibited either with volume expansion or with administration of "specific" phosphaturic agents such as PTH or cyclic AMP. These data are consistent with the thesis that phosphate reabsorption is dependent upon proximal tubular sodium reabsorption wherein the phosphaturic effect of PTH might be the result of a primary inhibition of proximal tubular sodium reabsorption mediated by adenyl cyclase stimulation.