Tamponade

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Tamponade

 

a method of restraining hemorrhage, permitting the drainage of fluid, or isolating infected areas from healthy tissues during surgery by plugging a wound or body cavity with a gauze tampon, an omentum, or muscles.

Cardiac tamponade is a state of pathological compression of the heart generally resulting from an accumulation of blood in the pericardial cavity owing to a wound. The condition is treated by means of surgery.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.