Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were orally administered with $N^G$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME) which inhibits or blocks the production of nitric oxide from L-arginine in vascular endothelial cells and vessel tissue to statistically examine the effects of nitric oxide on some physiological changes such as blood pressure and heart rate, and to confirm the apoptosis induced by the suppressed nitric oxide activity in some related organs under light microscope. Systolic blood pressure significantly increased 28.5% by the chronic treatment of L-NAME for 8 weeks (P<0.001), no significant difference, however, was observed in heart rate between the control group and the L-NAME-treated group regardless of their age. Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed some histological alterations only in kidney among the examined organs; heart, liver, pancreas, and adrenal gland from the L-NAME-treated group. TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling) test showed a strong positive reaction, representing that the chronic treatment of L-NAME facilitates apoptosis, in the cortex and medulla of kidney, but not any significance detectable in the other organs. These results conclude that chronic treatment of L-NAME significantly increases blood pressure, and that the followed inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis occurs a typical inducement of apoptosis in kidney.