Transmural movement of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) was studied in guinea pig small intestine in vitro in order to test the hypothesis that there is mucosal 5-HT barrier in this species. Segments of guinea pig ileum were mounted as flat sheets in flux chambers or were everted and perfused. Mucosal-to-serosal (Jm leads to s) and serosal-to-mucosal (Js leads to m) fluxes of 5-HT were measured in the absence of 5-HT gradients and under open- or short-circuited conditions. The results indicated that substantial transmural movement of 5-HT occurred in these preparations. Both Jm leads to s and Js leads to m were linear functions of the 5-HT concentration over a range of 1-30 microM and were not significantly different in the two directions. Addition of 2,4-dinitrophenol to both sides of the tissue reduced short-circuit current to zero and increased both tissue conductance and unidirectional 5-HT fluxes. These results suggested that the 5-HT fluxes across the guinea pig ileum occurred by passive mechanisms. Fluxes of 5-HT across preparations with the muscularis externa removed were not significantly different from fluxes across intact preparations. Mucosal-to-serosal 5-HT fluxes in everted perfused sacs were comparable with fluxes in the flat-sheet preparations. The data are not consistent with the hypothesis of a "tissue barrier" that functions to prevent 5-HT from reaching serotonergic receptors on enteric ganglion cells or enteroendocrine cells.