The elimination of carboxyamidated gastrin-17 and its glycine-extended precursor was studied in anesthetized pigs during constant-rate infusion. Extraction of amidated gastrin-17 was recorded in the hindlimb (42%), kidney (40%), head (32%, P < 0.001), and the gut (13%, P < 0.01). Elimination was not recorded in the liver, lungs, or heart. Extraction of glycine-extended gastrin-17 was measured in the kidney (36%), hindlimb (31%, P < 0.001), head (26%), and the gut (16%, P < 0.01), but not in the liver or the lungs. Glycine-extended gastrin-17 was not processed to amidated gastrin during infusion. The half-life, metabolic clearance rate, and apparent volume of distribution for amidated gastrin-17 were 3.5 +/- 0.4 min, 15.5 +/- 1.1 ml.kg-1.min-1, and 76.5 +/- 9.9 ml/kg, respectively, and for glycine-extended gastrin-17 were 4.3 +/- 0.6 min, 17.4 +/- 0.9 ml.kg-1.min-1, and 104.7 +/- 11.9 ml/kg, respectively. We conclude that extraction of amidated and glycine-extended gastrin-17 varies in the vascular beds, with elimination mainly confined to nonorgan tissues and the kidneys.