The aim of the study was to characterize the effects of induced moderate hypothermia on splanchnic blood flow, with particular reference to that of the pancreas and the islets of Langerhans. We also investigated how interference with the autonomic nervous system at different levels influenced the blood perfusion during hypothermia. For this purpose, hypothermia (body temperature 28°C) was induced by external cooling, whereas normothermic (37.5°C) anaesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats were used as controls. Some rats were pretreated with either propranolol, yohimbine, atropine, hexamethonium or a bilateral abdominal vagotomy. Our findings suggest that moderate hypothermia elicits complex, organ-specific circulatory changes, with increased perfusion noted in the pylorus, as well as the whole pancreas and the pancreatic islets. The pancreatic islets maintain their high blood perfusion through mechanism involving both sympathetic and parasympathetic mediators, whereas the increased pyloric blood flow is mediated through parasympathetic mechanisms. Renal blood flow was decreased and this can be prevented by ganglionic blockade and is also influenced by -adrenoceptors.