EXHIBIT 5.1

                         [Hunton & Williams Letterhead]


                                  July 28, 1998

Owens & Minor, Inc.
Owens & Minor Trust I
c/o Owens & Minor, Inc.
4800 Cox Road
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060



                            Owens & Minor Trust I --
           $132,000,000 $2.6875 Term Convertible Securities, Series A

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         We have acted as counsel to Owens & Minor, Inc., a Virginia corporation
(the "Company"), and to Owens & Minor Trust I, a statutory business trust formed
under the Delaware Business Trust Act (the "Trust"), in connection with the
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the "Registration Statement") filed by the
Company and the Trust with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), relating to the
registration of the Trust's $2.6875 Term Convertible Securities, Series A
("TECONS") to be sold by certain holders of such TECONS. The TECONS were issued
pursuant to the terms of an Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust dated as
of May 13, 1998 (the "Declaration of Trust") among the Company and The First
National Bank of Chicago, as Property Trustee, First Chicago Delaware, Inc., as
Delaware Trustee and certain officers of the Company as Regular Trustees
("Regular Trustees"), and are guaranteed by the Company to the extent described
in the Preferred Securities Guarantee Agreement dated as of May 13, 1998 (the
"Guarantee"). The Trust has acquired $136,082,500 aggregate principal amount of
5.375% Junior Subordinated Convertible Debentures Due 2013 of the Company (the
"Debentures") with the proceeds from the sale of the TECONS and the sale to the
Company of the common securities of the Trust. The Debentures were issued
pursuant to the terms of a Junior Subordinated Indenture dated as of May 13,
1998 as supplemented by a First Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 13, 1998
(the Indenture, as so supplemented is referred to as the "Indenture"), among the
Company and The First National Bank of Chicago, as Indenture Trustee (the
"Indenture Trustee").

We have examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our
satisfaction, of such documents, corporate records, certificates of public
officials and other documents as we have deemed necessary or advisable for the
purpose of rendering this opinion.

We do not purport to express an opinion on any laws other than the federal laws
of the United States of America, the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and
the State of New York and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Based upon the foregoing and the further qualifications stated below, we are of
the opinion that:

          (i)     the Debentures have been duly authorized and, assuming that
                  they have been executed and authenticated in accordance with
                  the provisions of the Indenture and delivered to and paid for
                  by the Trust, are valid and binding obligations of the
                  Company, entitled to the benefits of the Indenture,
                  enforceable against the Company in accordance with their
                  terms, except that the enforcement thereof may be subject to
                  (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium,
                  fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws now or hereafter
                  in effect relating to creditors' rights generally and (ii)
                  general principles of equity, regardless of whether
                  enforcement is sought in a proceeding at law or in equity;

         (ii)     the Guarantee has been duly authorized, executed and delivered
                  by the Company and (assuming due authorization, execution and
                  delivery thereof by the guarantee trustee) constitutes a valid
                  and binding agreement of the Company enforceable against the
                  Company in accordance with its terms, except that the
                  enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy,
                  insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance
                  or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect relating to
                  creditors' rights generally and (ii) general principles of
                  equity, regardless of whether enforcement is sought in a
                  proceeding at law or in equity; and

         (iii)    the shares of Common Stock of the Company issuable upon
                  conversion of the TECONS have been duly authorized for
                  issuance by the Company upon such conversion by all necessary
                  corporate action and such Common Stock, when duly issued upon
                  such conversion, will be validly issued, fully paid and
                  nonassessable; no holder thereof is subject to personal
                  liability solely by reason of being such a holder; and the
                  issuance of such Common Stock upon such conversion is not
                  subject to preemptive rights.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Securities and Exchange
Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the statement made
in reference to this firm under the caption "Legal Matters" in the Registration
Statement. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the
category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Securities Act
or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and
Exchange Commission.




                             /s/ Hunton & Williams