Adult rats with experimental vitamin A deficiency and control animals were intraperitoneally injected with chicken ovalbumin (OA) solution and the entrance of native OA into the blood was assessed 3 hours later by competitive radioimmunoassay. The OA amounts circulating in the blood of control animals averaged (0.39 +/- 0.06) X 10(-4)% of the consumed dose, while in the experimental group it averaged (1.33 +/- 0.42) 10(-4)%. Electron microscopy, using colloid lanthanum hydroxide, has shown vitamin A deficiency to give rise to an abrupt reduction in glycocalix layer, as compared to the control, without increasing erythrocyte membrane permeability for tracer particles. It is concluded that vitamin A deficiency leads to a considerable damage of small intestinal permeability for protein macromolecules.