Acute renal failure (ARF) can be produced in rats by a combination of insults which augment transport activity and blunt regulatory mechanisms designed to maintain medullary oxygen sufficiency. This type of ARF is characterized by necrosis of medullary thick ascending limbs (mTALs). Uninephrectomized, salt-depleted rats injected with indomethacin (10 mg/kg) develop ARF following the administration of the radiocontrast agent, iothalamate. Furosemide (20 mg/kg, intravenous), administered immediately before the contrast material, attenuated the severity of ARF and reduced mTAL necrosis. Treatment with furosemide and/or normal saline prevented both the decline in renal function and mTAL injury. It is concluded that furosemide and normal saline may ameliorate the course of ARF if administered before radiocontrast.