The cerebral effects of sevoflurane were compared in dogs with those of enflurane and isoflurane. Initially, the minimum alveolar concentrations (MAC) of sevoflurane and enflurane were determined and the electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to increasing doses of sevoflurane (1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 MAC) or enflurane (1.5 and 2.0 MAC) in unparalysed animals were examined. Administration of sevoflurane was not associated with seizure activity at any concentration either during normocapnia (PaCO2 5.3 kPa) or hypocapnia (PaCO2 2.7 kPa), even in the presence of intense auditory stimuli. All dogs anaesthetized with enflurane demonstrated sustained EEG and motor evidence of seizure activity induced by auditory stimuli at concentrations of enflurane greater than 1 MAC, particularly during hypocapnia. In a separate group of dogs, the effects of increasing concentrations of sevoflurane and isoflurane (0.5, 1.5 and 2.15 MAC) were compared directly on arterial pressure, cardiac output and heart rate, cerebral blood flow and the cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen (CMRO2) using the venous outflow technique. Sevoflurane, in common with isoflurane, had minimal effects on cerebral blood flow at the concentrations studied, but significantly reduced the CMRO2 at end-tidal concentrations sufficient to produce a burst suppression pattern on the EEG (approximately 2.15 MAC). Both sevoflurane and isoflurane significantly decreased arterial pressure in a dose-dependent manner, but neither drug significantly altered cardiac output.