Serotonin is a vasoconstrictor thought to cause coronary artery constriction in humans. The purpose of this study was to determine if isoflurane and halothane each attenuated coronary artery constriction evoked by serotonin in pigs. Both in vitro and in vivo experimental methods were used. Isolated coronary arteries with an without endothelium were studied in organ chambers in the presence and absence of 2.5% concentrations of the anesthetics. In intact pigs serotonin was infused directly into the left anterior descending coronary arteries to induce constriction. The vasodilator effects of 0.5%, 1.25%, and 2.0% isoflurane and halothane were determined using quantitative angiography. Contractile responses of isolated coronary arteries were depressed by the two anesthetics. Maximum contractile responses to serotonin were as follows: rings with endothelium 45 +/- 5% untreated versus 29 +/- 5% with isoflurane 2.5% (difference between dose-response curves, P less than 0.01) and without endothelium 67 +/- 5% untreated versus 51 +/- 6% with isoflurane 2.5% (P less than 0.001); with endothelium 52 +/- 7% untreated versus 28 +/- 7% with halothane 2.5% (P less than 0.001) and without endothelium 65 +/- 5% untreated versus 40 +/- 6% with halothane 2.5% (P less than 0.001). In intact pigs isoflurane and halothane dilated constricted coronary arteries with and without endothelium at all anesthetic concentrations tested, including concentrations as low as 0.5%. Isoflurane 1.25% increased diameter of vessels with endothelium from 1.5 +/- 0.1 mm to 1.7 +/- 0.1 mm (P less than 0.02) and halothane 1.25% increased diameter from 1.6 +/- 0.1 mm to 1.7 +/- 0.1 mm (P less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)