Hepatic intestinal and whole body plasma clearance and appearance of noradrenaline (NA) was quantified in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis (n = 12) and in controls (n = 6). As NA may be released as well as removed in the same vascular bed, infusion of tritium labelled NA (3H-NA) was carried out during hepatic vein catheterisation in order to determine both flux rates. In alcoholic cirrhosis plasma concentrations of endogenous NA and adrenaline (A) were significantly above control values (NA: median 2.4 v 1.7 nmol/l, p less than 0.02; A: 0.38 v 0.19 nmol/l, p less than 0.01). Whole body clearance of 3H-NA equal in the two groups (1.6 v 1.7 l/min, ns), while as the overall appearance rate of NA was significantly higher in alcoholic cirrhosis (4.2 v 2.6 nmol/min, p less than 0.02) indicating an enhanced sympathoadrenal activity in this group. The hepatic intestinal clearances of A, NA, and 3H-NA were not significantly different in patients and controls, but the estimated hepatic intestinal spillover rate of NA was 0.24 nmol/min in patients as compared with 0.0 nmol/min in controls (p less than 0.02). As a result of portosystemic shunting in cirrhosis the present estimation of NA spillover represents a minimum value. Our results indicate that the augmented circulating catecholamines in cirrhosis do not result from diminished removal but are contributed to from increased sympathetic nervous activity in the hepatic intestinal area (enhanced mesenteric sympathetic nervous activity).