we have isolated byclonal culture techniques a diploid cell strain ( l-2 ) from adult rat lung . 
 these cells appear to retain differentiated functions that are present in type ii alveolar epithelial cells of intact lung . 
 the l-2 cells are diploid , epithelial cells , they contain osmiophilic lamellar bodies in their cytoplasm and they synthesize lecithin by the same de novo pathways as whole lung.imagesfigure 1 .