thumb|200px|Schematic of typical plant cell
Cytorrhysis is the permanent and irreparable damage to the cell wall after the complete collapse of a plant cell due to the loss of internal positive pressure (hydraulic turgor pressure). Positive pressure within a plant cell is required to maintain the upright structure of the cell wall. That negative pressure pulls the center of the cell inward until the cell wall can no longer withstand the strain. Polyethylene glycol is an example of a solute with a high molecular weight that is used to induce cytorrhysis under experimental conditions.
Mechanisms of avoidance
Desiccation tolerance refers to the ability of a cell to successfully rehydrate without irreparable damage to the cell wall following severe dehydration. Avoiding cellular damage due to metabolic, mechanical, and oxidative stresses associated with desiccation are obstacles that must be overcome in order to maintain desiccation tolerance. Many of the mechanisms utilized for drought tolerance are also utilized for desiccation tolerance, however the terms desiccation tolerance and drought tolerance should not be interchanged as the possession of one does not necessarily correlate with possession of the other.
Resurrection plants
Many resurrection plants use constitutive and inducible mechanisms to deal with drought and then later desiccation stress.