If further sympathetic stimulation is neither possible nor desirable during moderate hypovolemia, anesthetic agents capable of sympathetic stimulation would not be advantageous for induction of anesthesia during hypovolemia. To test this hypothesis, 21 swine were studied during normovolemia and after 30% of their estimated blood volume was removed. Swine were divided randomly into three equal groups to receive no anesthetic or the minimal anesthetic dose of ketamine (6.65 ± 0.38 mg/kg, iv) or thiopental (5.77 ± 0.21 mg/kg, iv). After the initial response to hypovolemia, animals given no drug did not exhibit further changes during the hypovolemic period. Five minutes after induction of anesthesia in the hypovolemic state, ketamine, but not thiopental, caused large increases in plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and renin activity. Despite these differences, both anesthetics equally depressed systemic vascular resistance, mean systemic arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output. Ketamine, but not thiopental, decreased stroke volume. Neither anesthetic affected oxygen consumption. Both anesthetics caused similar increases in blood lactate concentration. Thirty minutes after induction of anesthesia, plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and renin activity remained higher in animals given ketamine than in those given thiopental. Stroke volume, systemic vascular resistance, cardiac output, and oxygen consumption did not differ among groups; however, only the animals given ketamine showed further increase in blood lactate concentration and base-deficit. Thirty minutes after infusion of shed blood, cardiac output and blood lactate concentration were greater in the animals given ketamine than in those given thiopental or no anesthetic. Ninety minutes after infusion of shed blood, no differences existed among groups. The authors conclude that after moderate hemorrhage, further increase in circulating catecholamines is possible but that the levels achieved either exceed the maximal effective concentration at site(s) of action or their effects are overwhelmed by the depressant effects of ketamine. This study failed to document any advantage of ketamine over thiopental when used in the minimal anesthetic dosage for induction of anesthesia during hypovolemia.