Tryptamine and 5-HT mediate vasoconstriction in the isolated perfused rat tail artery. These agonists were differentiated by the classical serotonin receptor antagonists methysergide and ketanserin which were significantly more potent against 5-HT-induced responses. Neither prazosin nor RX 781094 alone or in combination reduced the vasoconstriction produced by tryptamine. Tetrahydro-beta-carboline (THBC) was devoid of agonist properties and behaved as a competitive antagonist of tryptamine but not of 5-HT. THBC also had alpha-adrenoceptor blocking properties in this preparation.