Experiments were designed to analyze the effects of ouabain on the response of vascular smooth muscle to endothelium-derived relaxing factors released under basal conditions and on stimulation with acetylcholine or bradykinin. Bioassay rings of canine coronary artery (without endothelium) were superfused with perfusate from canine left circumflex coronary arteries with endothelium (donor arteries). During contractions of the bioassay ring evoked by prostaglandin F2 alpha, the relaxations caused by endothelium-derived relaxing factor(s), released under basal conditions or on exposure of the endothelial cells of the donor artery to maximally effective concentrations of acetylcholine, were reduced by incubation of the bioassay ring with ouabain. However, the relaxations evoked by infusion of bradykinin were not altered by incubation of the bioassay rings with ouabain. These experiments demonstrate the release of two endothelium-derived relaxing factors that can be distinguished using ouabain.