Introduction In the study of viruses infecting the eye, a method of virus isolation has been sought which is simple, inexpensive, and yet permits rapid and reliable identification of the virus. Amnion tissue seems to afford such a means of virus identification.1,21. Amnion is an inexpensive source of cells—readily prepared and maintained with commercially available media. 2. A single amnion can yield many hundred roller tubes, which may be stored so that a single amnion can furnish a supply of roller tubes for two to three months.3-53. A wide spectrum of viruses can be grown in amnion: the herpes zoster-varicella group, poliomyelitis virus, most ECHO viruses, many of the coxsackie group, croup-associated virus, measles, and others.1,3-54. Many viruses, especially herpes simplex and the adenoviruses, produce characteristic cytopathogenic changes that are readily detected. These changes are more easily seen and develop earlier than would be