The potential clinical use of topical magnetic resonance spectroscopy (volume selection by static magnetic field gradients) was tested in 50 studies in volunteers. Topical magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was shown to be a straightforward method for localising 31P spectra of brain and liver. However, the spherical shape and fixed position of the selected volume posed serious limitations to the study of heart and transplanted kidney by topical MRS. Phosphorus-31 spectra of approximately 30 cm-3 of brain or liver could be obtained in 8 min. Ratios of metabolite concentrations could be determined with a coefficient of variation ranging from 10% to 30%. The ratios of phosphocreatine/ATP and inorganic phosphate/ATP in brain were 1.8 and 0.3, respectively. The ratio of inorganic phosphate/ATP in liver was 0.9. Intracellular pH was 7.03 in brain and 7.24 in liver. The T1 relaxation times of phosphocreatine, inorganic phosphate and gamma-ATP in brain were 4.8 s, 2.5 s and 1.0 s, respectively.