The secretion rate of desoxycorticosterone (DOC) and the excretion rate of tetrahydrodesoxycorticosterone (THDOC) and aldosterone were measured in 14 patients with moderate to severe edema. Six patients had Laennee's cirrhosis, one had portal vein thrombosis, three had congestive heart failure, two had idiopathic edema, and two had severe obesity associated with edema. The excretion rate of aldosterone was increased in all but five patients. The mean excretion rate of THDOC in the six patients with cirrhosis of the liver was significantly below the mean value of our normal control subjects (p < 0.001) and below that of the other patients with edema (p < 0.001). DOC secretion rate was increased in one patient with cirrhosis of the liver and in one with congestve heart failure, but was within normal limits in the remaining patients.