In dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium, hilar venous pressure (Phv) and secretion were measured from the submandibular gland receiving spontaneous blood flow or vascular perfusion at the normal resting flow rate. Parasympathetic nerve stimulation and ACh-induced secretion increased Phv and its pulse pressure; Phv also showed an obvious arterial (or perfusion pressure)-like waveform. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) exerted similar effects on Phv but produced negligible secretion. Sympathetic nerve stimulation, phenylephrine, and clonidine did not induce secretion and had no significant action on Phv, whereas isoproterenol provoked secretion and changed Phv as with parasympathetic stimulation. Background or superimposed sympathetic nerve stimulation reduced the parasympathetic nerve-induced responses; the sympathetic inhibition was abolished by phentolamine and yohimbine but not by prazosin and propranolol. The results suggest a direct relationship between Phv and secretion during parasympathetic salivation: the elevation in Phv was primarily independent of the concurrent blood flow response, mediated via muscarinic and peptidergic mechanisms, and related to an opening of arteriovenous anastomoses. Sympathetic inhibition of parasympathetic salivation may be related to prevention of an increased Phv exerted primarily via the alpha2-adrenergic mechanism.