Neutrophil (PMN) migration in the systemic and pulmonary circulation of rabbits was compared by using different inflammatory stimuli to determine the role of the leukocyte adhesion complex, CD11/CD18, in each of these vascular beds. The adhesion complex was blocked by administering the anti-CD18 mAb 60.3. The data show that mAb 60.3 blocks PMN emigration into inflammatory foci in the abdominal wall produced by implanting sponges containing either hydrochloric acid, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli endotoxin, or PMA. mAb 60.3 also inhibited PMN emigration in response to peritoneal instillation of S. pneumoniae. The effect of mAb 60.3 on PMN emigration in the lungs varied depending upon the stimulus. PMN failed to migrate into the PMA-induced pneumonia; however, mAb 60.3 pretreatment only partially inhibited endotoxin-induced pneumonia and did not inhibit S. pneumoniae or hydrochloric acid-induced pneumonias. PMN lavaged from the alveolar spaces in the Streptococcal pneumonia had similar quantities of mAb 60.3 bound to their surfaces as the circulating PMN. We conclude that the CD11/CD18 complex mediates PMN adherence in the systemic circulation. However, PMN adherence in the pulmonary circulation may occur by either CD18-dependent or -independent mechanisms that are specific to the inciting stimulus.