pad

A cushion-like mass of soft material which may be (1) anatomical; (2) surgical.

• abdominal p. — a pad for the absorption of discharges from abdominal wounds, or for packing off abdominal viscera to improve exposure during surgery.
• communal p. — metacarpal pad.
• fat p. — a pad of fat lying within a joint, covered with synovial membrane and thought to assist in the spreading of synovial lubricant, e.g. infrapatellar fat pad of stifle joint.
• foot p's — see footpad.
• Mikulicz's p. — a pad made of folded gauze, for packing off viscera in surgical procedures.
• pressure p. — in surgery, gauze sponges used to apply pressure in the control of minor hemorrhage.
• stripped p. — avulsion of the pad with exposure of the dermis. A common injury in Greyhounds which have raced on asphalt or been over-exercised on a walking machine with a rough belt.