Pressure-flow relations in the canine hindlimb can be well explained by a vascular waterfall at the arteriolar level. Under these conditions, P(art) = Pcrit + Q.Rart, where P(art) is the arterial pressure, Pcrit is the waterfall pressure, Q is regional flow, and Rart is the arterial resistance of the vessels upstream from the waterfall. To determine whether calcium channels in vascular smooth muscle affect Pcrit in addition to Rart, we pump perfused canine hindlimbs and measured both variables over a range of perfusion pressures (Pper) before and during the infusion of the calcium channel blocker nifedipine. Nifedipine significantly decreased Pcrit and Rart at each Pper. Increasing Pper under control conditions from 50 to 150 mmHg significantly increased Pcrit from 24.2 +/- 1.5 to 42.5 +/- 2.2 mmHg. During nifedipine infusion, increasing Pper from 25 to 100 mmHg also increased Pcrit from 14.5 +/- 1.5 to 20.2 +/- 1.9 mmHg, but the rate of increase was less. In contrast to the rise in Pcrit with increasing Pper, Rart significantly decreased from 10.7 +/- 1.1 to 8.1 +/- 1.2 mmHg.min.100 g.ml-1 before nifedipine infusion, and from 5.7 +/- 0.4 to 2.2 +/- 0.1 mmHg.min.100 g.ml-1 during nifedipine infusion. Venous resistance (Rven) significantly decreased with increases in Pper and during nifedipine infusion. The regional elastic recoil pressure (Pel, a measure of small venular pressure) increased with both an increase in Pper and nifedipine. These results suggest that nifedipine decreases Pcrit, Rart, and Rven and that at constant Pper nifedipine increases Pel.