Spin-lattice (T1) and spin-spin (T2) relaxation times of proton, deuteron, and oxygen-17 in muscle water have been measured at 9.21 MHz in the temperature range of 0 degree--40 degrees C. The values of the apparent activation energy for the three nuclei are (in kJ . mol-1) 9.1, 19, and 18 for 1/T1, and -1.3, 4.2, and 14 for 1/T2, respectively. The relatively small values for T2 for 1H and 2H and their low apparent activation energies are attributed to hydrogen exchange between water and proteins; this exchange does not affect the 17O relaxation. Quantitative calculations on deuteron T1 and oxygen-17 T1 and T2 have been made. The effect of surface-induced anisotropy on a minor fraction of water molecules is considered in some detail, and a new expression for its spectral density similar to that of liquid crystalline systems is applied in the calculation. It is suggested that water on the surfaces of macromolecules has a rotational correlation time of tau c approximately 1 x 10(-9) S, with a time constant of tau x approximately 3 x 10(-7) S, which is characteristic of the relaxation of the local structure.