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The object of this study was to determine the type of cerebral vessel affected by injection of radiopaque contrast agents used in cerebral angiography. Seventeen rabbits were prepared surgically for a left intracarotid injection of methylglucamine iothalamate (Conray 60) or methylglucamine diatrizoate (Reno-M-60). Extravasations of the tracers, Evans blue and horseradish peroxidase, occurred in the left half of the brain and occasionally in the right half. Within those areas of blood-brain barrier breakdown, the frequency of leakage was 60% for arterioles, 25% for venules, and 12% for capillaries. The leakage appeared to be primarily intercellular, rather than intracellular. This study provides evidence that greater blood-brain barrier alterations occur in arterioles and venules than in capillaries following cerebral angiography.