We investigated whether chronic administration of LHRH to normal adult rats could increase the percentages of anterior pituitary gland (APG) cells that contain immunoreactive LH and/or FSH and gonadotropin secretion. Vehicle or 1 microgram LHRH was injected sc twice daily for 6 days, and rats were decapitated 16 h after the last injection. Treatment with LHRH caused nearly a doubling in the numerical density of LH and FSH cells and in the percentage of APG cells that contained LH or FSH. It also caused a shift in the gonadotroph population from LH and LH/FSH cells to LH/FSH cells. It did not change the mean size of gonadotrophs or APG weight. These changes at the light microscopic level were not accompanied by any apparent changes in LH cells at the ultrastructural level. However, they were accompanied by an approximate doubling of the basal serum LH and FSH concentrations, an increase in the APG FSH concentration, and an increase in the basal FSH release rate (measured in vitro). The results indicate that exogenous LHRH can be administered to increase numbers of gonadotrophs in the APG, synthesis of FSH in gonadotrophs, and basal serum LH and FSH concentrations.