The cardiocirculatory responses to equianaesthetic concentrations (MAC 0.5 and MAC 1.0 plus 67% N2O) of halothane, methoxyflurane, enflurane and isoflurane were studied in a total of 35 closed-chest dogs during ventilation controlled to produce normocapnia. Each anaesthetic produced a dose-related decrease in mean arterial pressure and in values reflecting cardiac function. These included cardiac output, stroke volume, left ventricular max dp/dt and ejection fraction. Isoflurane seemed slightly less depressant to the heart than the other 3 anaesthetics. Total peripheral resistance remained nearly unaffected during halothane and methoxyflurane anaesthesia but decreased significantly with MAC 1.0 enflurane and isoflurane. There was no change in heart rate at low anaesthetic concentrations. The deeper levels of anaesthesia were associated with moderate increases in heart rate. In spite of the obvious depression of myocardial contractility there was a fall in pulmonary artery and left ventricular end-diastolic pressures and in left ventricular end-diastolic volumes with each of the agents. We take this as an expression of decreased ventricular filling resulted from pooling of blood in peripheral capacitive vessels. With the exception of isoflurane, each of the other three anaesthetics reduced coronary blood flow. Coronary vascular resistance was not substantially influenced by halothane and methoxyflurane, but decreased with MAC 1.0 enflurane and isoflurane. Myocardial oxygen availability was always found to be adequate. Isoflurane even produced a significant rise in coronary venous oxygen saturation indicating coronary vasodilation. Parallel with the depression in cardiac performance and blood pressure as two of the main predictors of energy demand, myocardial oxygen consumption was found to be significantly reduced by each of the anaesthetics. The ratio of the external work of the left ventricle to its oxygen consumption indicated that myocardial efficiency deterioated. The clinical implications are discussed.