Ultrasound-induced hemorrhage near the fetal rat skull was investigated to determine if the damage could be correlated with temporal-average intensity. A 0.92-MHz f/1 spherically focused transducer (5.1-cm focal length) was used to expose the skull of 18- to 19-day gestation exteriorized Sprague-Dawley rat fetuses (n = 197). There were four ultrasound-exposed groups (n = 36 each), one sham exposed group (n = 36) and one cage control group (n = 17). Three of the ultrasound-exposed groups had the same peak compressional (10 MPa)/peak rarefactional (6.7 MPa) pressure but different spatial-peak temporal-average intensities (I(TA)) of 1.9, 4.7 and 9.4 W/cm(2); the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) was varied (100, 250 and 500 Hz, respectively). The fourth ultrasound-exposed group had a peak compressional (6.7 MPa)/peak rarefactional (5.0 MPa) pressure and corresponding I(TA) of 4.6 W/cm(2); PRF was 500 Hz. Hemorrhage occurrence increased slightly with increasing I(TA), as well as peak rarefactional pressure and PRF, but the hemorrhage area did not correlate with any of the exposure parameters.