Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors decrease blood pressure by reducing systemic vascular resistance. That the peripheral vasodilating properties of ACE inhibitors might not be homogeneously distributed in all vascular beds and might differ from one drug to another has been investigated in the normotensive rat by the pulsed Doppler technique using the active components of four different ACE inhibitors: captopril, enalapril, perindopril, and ramipril. Systemic (cardiac output and blood pressure) and regional (kidney, mesentery, hindquarter) hemodynamic responses to saline or to cumulative bolus injections (0.01-1 mg/kg) of captopril, enalaprilat, perindoprilat, or ramiprilat were continuously monitored. The effects of successive bolus injections (0.3-300 ng/kg) of angiotensinII were also investigated. The four ACE inhibitors produced an almost complete blockade of plasma angiotensin-II converting-enzyme activity (83%, 100%, 100%, and 100%, respectively), induced dose-dependent decreases in mean blood pressure, did not significantly affect cardiac output, and reduced total peripheral and mesenteric vascular resistances to the same extent. Hindlimb vascular resistance was identically decreased, but to a lower extent than total peripheral resistance by enalaprilat, perindoprilat, and ramiprilat, whereas it was increased by captopril at low doses only. Renal resistance was markedly decreased by the four drugs, and especially by captopril. The decreasing rank order for ACE-inhibitor-induced vasodilation is exactly the same (renal greater than total peripheral = mesenteric greater than hindlimb vascular resistances) as that of angiotensin-H-induced regional vasoconstriction, indicating that the vasodilator properties of ACE inhibitors are mainly due to angiotensin-II vasomotor tone suppression. None of the investigated compounds significantly affected mesenteric and hindlimb blood flows, except captopril, which lowered the latter significantly.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)