Differential uptake of iodine containing radiographic contrast medium (I) in myocardial infarcts compared with normal mycardium has been detected by computerized transmission tomography (CTT). In this study the histologic and cellular distribution of I in ischemically damaged canine myocardium after intravenous administration of contrast material was examined by the use of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis of fresh frozen cryosections. Analysis of individual cells in 6-mu thick sections mounted on carbon substrates showed that I was detectable in the ischemically damaged but not the normal myocardial cells. A decline in the potassium-to-sodium ratio confirmed the loss of membrane integrity in the ischemically damaged cells that accumulated I. These results indicate that I enters ischemically damaged but not normal myocardial cells suggesting that CTT scans after intravenous administration of contrast material may be capable of defining the area of the myocardium in which cells have lost membrane integrity after an ischemic injury.