Swab

A cotton wool pad, often attached to a small stick, used, e.g., to clean a wound, to apply ointment or to take a specimen.

A specimen taken with a swab.

A wad of absorbent material, cotton, or gauze wrapped around the end of a thin stick or clamp. Swabs are used to apply medication, remove matter from a site on the body, such as the ear canal, or take a sample of cells for laboratory testing, such as for strep throat.

A pad of absorbent material (such as cotton), sometimes attached to a stick or wire, used for cleaning out or applying medication to wounds, operation sites, or body cavities. In operations, gauze swabs are used to clean blood from the site; such swabs are always carefully counted and contain a radio-opaque ‘tag’ to facilitate identification should it by mischance remain in the body after operation.

A term applied to a small piece of gauze, lint or similar material used for wiping out the mouth of a patient or for drying out a wound. The term is also applied to a tuft of sterilized cotton-wool wrapped round a wire and enclosed in a sterile glass tube used for obtaining a sample for example, from the throat or from wounds for bacteriological examination.

Cotton or gauze on the end of a slender stick, used for cleansing cavities, applying remedies, or obtaining a piece of tissue or secretion for bacteriological examination.

A bundle of absorbent material employed for the application of antiseptics, absorption of bodily fluids during surgical procedures, or the collection of bacterial samples from an infected patient.

A surgical swab, typically a folded segment of cotton gauze, is either held manually or secured in a clamp. It serves the purpose of administering cleansing and antiseptic solutions to the skin prior to making an incision, as well as absorbing blood and various fluids throughout a surgical procedure. Often, the swab contains X-ray detectable material, aiding its identification if inadvertently left within the body post-surgery.