In rabbit oviduct electrical field stimulation evoked contraction in mature animals and contraction followed by relaxation in juvenile animals. 2. Phentolamine (1 microM) inhibited the contraction. The relaxation was partly suppressed by propranolol (1-10 microM) and completely inhibited by guanethidine (5 microM). 3. Cocaine (1 microM) increased the duration or the amplitude of contractions and abolished or did not change the relaxation. The contraction-increasing effect of cocaine was more pronounced in estradiol-treated mature rabbit. 4. It is concluded that electrically evoked responses in rabbit oviduct are mediated by transmitters released from adrenergic terminals and that estradiol increases neuronal uptake of noradrenaline.