The active transport of 5-hydroxyindol-3-ylacetic acid and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid from a recirculatory perfusion system of the cerebral ventricles of the unanaesthetized dog.

1. An operation on dogs for the implantation of guide tubes to the lateral ventricle and cisterna magna and a method whereby the ventricular space can be repeatedly perfused in conscious and unrestrained animals are described.2. The characteristics of a recirculatory perfusion system were examined and the bulk formation and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid and the volume of the ventricular space perfused were derived from the concentrations achieved during the infusion of inulin into the system.3. 5-hydroxyindol-3-ylacetic acid (5-HIAA), the acid metabolite of 5-hydroxytryptamine, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (HVA), the main acid metabolite of dopamine, were demonstrated to be mainly removed from cerebrospinal fluid (c.s.f.) by an active transport system localized in the region of the fourth ventricle.4. It was possible to inhibit the active transport of these acids from cerebrospinal fluid by pre-treating the dogs with probenecid.