W e have shown that urea transport across the terminal inner medullary collecting duct (terminal IMCD) is mediated by a vasopressin-stimulated, facilitated diffusion process exhibiting properties consistent with a transporter. To investigate whether hypertonic NaCl, as exists in vivo in the inner medulla, affects urea permeability, we studied isolated perfused rat terminal IMCD segments. Perfusate and bath osmolality were varied symmetrically by adding or removing NaCl or mannitol. Urea permeability rose progressively when osmolality was increased with NaCl or mannitol from 290 to 690 mOsm/kg H2O in the absence of vasopressin; there was no further increase at 890 mOsm/kg H2O. In the presence of 10(-8) M arginine vasopressin, urea permeability increased when NaCl was added to raise osmolality from 290 to 490 mOsm/kg H2O but there was no further increase at 690 mOsm/kg H2O. When 1 mM 8-bromo cyclic AMP was added to the bath, raising NaCl still increased urea permeability. These results suggest that urea transport across the rat terminal IMCD is regulated both by vasopressin and by osmolality at values present in the renal inner medulla. Osmolality seems to activate urea transport across the rat terminal IMCD by mechanisms distinct from those of vasopressin or cyclic AMP.