Neutrophil adhesiveness is an important component of the pathophysiology of the inflammatory process. Modulation of this function could result in a reduction in the degree of inflammation and connective tissue damage. A simple technique using filtration of whole blood through nylon fiber columns has been developed to study the effect of anti-inflammatory agents on the adherence of rat peripheral blood neutrophils. Gold and chloroquine, in addition to many standard anti-inflammatory drugs, have been shown to cause inhibition of neutrophil adherence. Measurement of this parameter of cell behavior has the potential of detecting anti-inflammatory agents not normally effective in the standard animal models.