1. In order to study cellular events occurring in ischaemia, we have developed a method for simulating ischaemia in an isolated papillary muscle. Muscles were suspended in a chamber and changed from conventional superfusion with Tyrode solution to gas perfusion with 95% N2/5% CO2 (N2 gas perfusion), thus simultaneously stopping oxygenation and flow. Surface cells of the preparation were injected with the photoprotein aequorin in order to monitor intracellular free calcium concentration [( Ca2+]i). 2. Gas perfusion with 95% O2/5% CO2 (O2 gas perfusion) had little effect on the tension or Ca2+ transients. Superfusion with Tyrode solution equilibrated with 95% N2/5% CO2 (N2 Tyrode) caused tension to decline to 30‐40% of control, but had little effect on the amplitude of the Ca2+ transients. N2 gas perfusion caused tension to fall more rapidly and to a lower level than superfusion with N2 Tyrode. Ca2+ transients showed a small initial decline followed by a slowly developing increase in magnitude and duration. 3. Long exposures to N2 gas perfusion caused tension to decline to very low levels and Ca2+ transients to increase to a maximum. After a variable length of time, resting tension began to increase. At approximately the same time, Ca2+ transients began to decrease and eventually disappeared. Resting Ca2+ increased during N2 gas perfusion and remained elevated when the Ca2+ transients had declined. These changes could be reversed by restarting superfusion with standard Tyrode or by perfusion with O2 gas. 4. N2 gas perfusion caused a depolarization of the resting potential and an abbreviation of the action potential. In a long exposure the action potential eventually failed. These changes could be reversed by restarting superfusion with standard Tyrode or by perfusion with O2 gas. 5. Many of the effects of N2 gas perfusion could be mimicked by the addition of 20 mM‐lactic acid to the superfusing solution, which caused a profound reduction of tension and also an increase in the amplitude and duration of the Ca2+ transients. Calculation of the changes in intracellular pH caused by the addition of lactic acid suggest that the fall in intracellular pH produced by lactic acid was similar to that occurring in ischaemia. 6. Repeated exposures to N2 gas perfusion caused tension to fall more rapidly and an increased resting tension to develop more rapidly. The slowly developing rise in Ca2+ transients was abolished and a rise in resting Ca2+ occurred more quickly. 7. When muscles were quiescent, exposure to N2 gas perfusion caused an increase in resting light.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)