Plant cells and bacterial cells avoid bursting in hypotonic surroundings by their strong cell walls. These allow the build-up of turgor within the cell. When the turgor pressure equals the osmotic pressure, osmosis ceases. Such a solution is said to be isotonic . These organic molecules exert an osmotic effect that, if not compensated for, would cause the cell to take in so much water that it would swell and might even burst.
Sea water is hypertonic to their cytosol.
Similarly, if a plant tissue is placed in sea water, the cell contents shrink away from the rigid cell wall. This is called plasmolysis . Sea water is also hypertonic to the ECF of most marine vertebrates. A report in the 23 April 1998 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine tells of the life-threatening complications that can be caused by an ignorance of osmosis. BUT , in several cases, the diluent used was sterile water, not physiological saline.