Kinetics of an iodinated contrast medium were evaluated quantitatively as a function of time up to one hour after intravenous infusion in the brains of dogs with experimentally induced radiation damage and dogs with spontaneous brain tumor. Radiation damage was characterized by an increase in iodine accumulation soon after the infusion, while tumor concentration of iodine either showed no change or decreased with time. These results suggest that contrast kinetic studies may be useful in differentiating radiation damage to normal brain tissue from a malignant brain tumor.