Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity was found in the sera and synovial fluids (SF) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). PLA2 activity in RA SF was 6158 +/- 549 (SEM) U/ml (n = 48) and in RA sera 554 +/- 175 U/ml (normal sera-115 +/- 12 U/ml). In OA SF PLA2 activity was 5069 +/- 542 U/ml (n = 28), and in OA sera 268 +/- 55 U/ml. There was no significant difference between SF PLA2 activity in RA and OA. PLA2 activity in SF did not correlate with muramidase (lysozyme), beta-glucuronidase, total protein or white cell count, which were all significantly higher in RA SF than OA. A positive correlation between PLA2 in SF and matched sera was found in both RA and OA. It may be concluded that significant elevation of extracellular PLA2 occurs in both RA and OA, especially in the SF. The fact that high PLA2 did not correlate with other enzymes such as lysozyme and beta-glucuronidase, which are usually high in RA and low in OA SF, may mean that the handling of PLA2 in the joint space is different from other enzymes.