Interlobular arteries and superficial afferent and efferent arterioles were isolated from rabbit kidney, and the effects of intraluminal pressure, norepinephrine (NE), and angiotensin II (ANG II) on lumen diameter were examined. A single microvessel was dissected and one end was cannulated. The other end of the vessel was occluded and lumen diameter was measured at fixed intraluminal pressures. With step increases in intraluminal pressure over the range of 70-180 mmHg, lumen diameters of the interlobular arteries and afferent arterioles remained constant or decreased by up to 11%. In contrast, lumen diameters of efferent arterioles continued to increase as intraluminal pressure was elevated. In all three vessels NE (10(-9) to 10(-5) M) caused a dose-dependent decrease in lumen diameter. However, only the efferent arteriole responded to ANG II (10(-12) to 10(-8) M). The contractile response of the efferent arteriole to NE or ANG II was localized to the first 50-75 micrometers of the vessel as it emerged from the glomerulus. This finding suggests that smooth muscle cells are located only in this portion of the efferent arteriole. It is concluded that at least part of the autoregulation of renal blood flow can be explained by a myogenic mechanism in preglomerular vessels and that ANG II acts primarily on postglomerular segments of the rabbit renal microcirculation.