All moral rights asserted. Recolouring or alteration of the image is prohibited without permission. Bright field light micrograph of a thin section of red onion cells showing the beginning plasmolysis. The pigmented contents of each cell are shrinking after this tissue was placed in a salt (sodium chloride) solution. The concentrated (hypertonic) salt solution caused water to diffuse out of the cell cytoplasm, leaving empty spaces between cell contents and the cell walls. If not too badly damaged the cells can recover from plasmolysis by being placed in a dilute (hypotonic) solution. This is the second image in a sequence showing red onion cells undergoing plasmolysis and then recovering back to turgor. See C056/2334 - C056/2340 for the sequence. Magnification: x200 when printed at 15 centimetres wide.