For the diagnosis of renovascular disease, the authors propose the use of intravenous arteriography with photographic subtraction as the method of choice and advise the use of pyelogram wash-out to assess the functional significance of the stenosis. Furthermore they report their experience with percutaneous transluminal dilatation in 41 patients (10 fibrotic--31 atherosclerotic renal artery stenoses) and suggest that this method is valid alternative to surgery specially in poor risk patients. A controlled trial of this method versus surgery needs however to be undertaken to define the respective roles of these treatments.