Once the cell was discharged I cut down the sides of the cell, and then cut the covering across the center of the cell to expose the innards. The case of the cell is basically a thick aluminum foil with a clear plastic lining. This photo shows the negative tab and it's path to the innards of the cell. It also shows the path the positive tab once took before being eroded by the salt water. 

A cell is made if positive and negative plates stacked much like we parallel stack packs to increase capacity. In this photo you can see the many layers of plates stacked. One on top of the other to create a cell.

This photo shows some of the layers fanned out. If you look in the upper left of the photo you can see how the tab of each plate is opposite one another, creating a group of positive tabs and a group of  negative tabs. When tied together they conduct the collective energy of all the layer/plates combined. .

Here is another look at the plates. Notice the lithium Poly material peeling off of the collector plate. This is due to the salt water intrusion into the cell during the soak.

Here I have peeled off some of the poly (collector material) from the positive plate. This manufacturer used copper for the positive plate and with the salt water intrusion the collector was easily removed with the scrape of a finger nail

Here we see the negative plate. The poly mixture was not as easily removed. The plate appears to be made of aluminum or a aluminum nickel blend. The conductor was stuck well and took a screw driver and a bit of pressure to flake it off. 

This final photo shows all the plates removed and in a pile. With the plastic separator laying across the top of the photo. This was a 1500mah cell (of poor discharge I may add) the separator was a total of 6 1/2 feet long.

Some observations I made while tearing this cell apart. Once the covering was peeled off and I started peeling plates away the plates and the cell still being disassembled got warm to the touch. I was doing this in direct sun light in about 85F temperature. So I am not sure if it was residual voltage shorting (measured .0123 volts) or simply the black collector conducting heat. Either way I found it kind of interesting. Also I am sure many of you have read or been told about the sweet odor of a cell when it is punctured or leaking. This smell is very apparent even after the salt water soak. Although with this cell it was not as apparent as in most. Maybe this has something to do with what they used during manufacturing. Maybe even the cause of the low discharge performance.

Observations as they relate to some peoples practices. I have been asked on a few occasions, and told on a few other occasions that to discharge a cell with a salt water bath the cell should be punctured before soaking in salt water. Some even say it must be done or the salt water  will not penetrate the cell. I suggest that with all the layers being so thin that if we puncture the cell and the positive plate touches the negative plate internally of the cell is this not the same as shorting the positive tab to the negative tab? I do not puncture a cell prior to soaking in salt water but I have punctured cells before to see what happens. I have never had one catch fire or get hot. But knowing how they are made I would suggest no one ever puncture a cell. The plates are less then paper thin and are separated by only a thin layer of plastic equivalent to the mill of a cheap garbage bag. Shorting plates together is similar to shorting the positive and negative tabs.