The influence of arterial wall circumferential stretch (lambda) on the 32-min diffusive mural uptake of 125I-albumin and of Evan's blue dye (EBD) across the injured endothelial surface was studied in the intimal-medial preparation of the canine descending thoracic aorta (DTA). Albumin uptake (MA nmol/cm2) was measured by standard gamma counting techniques and the corresponding EBD uptake (ME) by the reflectance method. MA and ME were measured at a physiological stretch (lambda = 1.4) and at a hypertensive stretch (lambda = 1.8) at four equispaced locations (z) along the DTA. When lambda was changed from 1.4 to 1.8, the average percentage change of MA was -2% and of ME was -4%. These decreases were not significant (P greater than 0.10), and we conclude that arterial wall stretch exerts only minor influence on the parameters governing albumin and EBD-albumin accumulation in the intimal surface of the deendothelialized arterial intimal-medial tissue system.