Glucose metabolites (lactate, pyruvate, citrate, malate), alanine, glutamate and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were determined in the resting anterior tibial muscle of dogs. The muscle was sampled in anesthetized animals first breathing air, and secondly after an hour of breathing a hypercapnic mixture, FICO2 = 0.10 (experimental subjects n = 6) or air (control subjects n = 6). A decrease in concentration of glucose metabolites (lactate: -34%; pyruvate: -24%; Citrate: -34%; malate: -54%), glutamate (-43%), alanine (-35%) and ATP (-8%) was observed in the resting muscle during acute hypercapnic acidosis. This was not the case in control animals breathing air.