TissueDB/Materials/Batting

Cut polyester fiberfill batting — Cut synthetic fibre batting (polyester fiberfill) in a museum display — representative of the matted and loose fibre fillings used in medical simulation to build soft-tissue bulk.
License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 by Joep Vogels (Textielmuseum Tilburg)

Batting (also called wadding or fibrefill) is a matted sheet or loose mass of textile fibre used as a filling and padding material (per Wikidata Q4869920, a textile category whose fibres include cotton, wool, synthetic fibre and cotton wool). It is sold in several working forms — polyester batting and polyester fiberfill, cotton batting, cotton stuffing (cotton wool and cotton balls), and wool — in various thicknesses labelled low-loft to high-loft, by fabric, craft, upholstery and pharmacy suppliers. You work with it by cutting sheet forms to size with scissors, teasing loose forms apart by hand to break up clumps, and then layering, packing or wrapping it to build bulk. In medical simulation it provides compressible layered bulk that stands in for fatty, muscular and connective soft-tissue layers, and fills glove-based bowel structures.

Tissues

Tissue	Simulator	Notes
Connective tissue (subcutaneous fat plane)	Appendectomy Simulator, Open Appendectomy Simulator (Matthews), Z-Plasty Simulator	Polyester batting for the subcutaneous fat plane beneath the skin — the Matthews build uses yellow-dyed superficial and deep layers. In the Z-Plasty felt build, cotton batting (cotton cleaning pads a suitable source) forms the soft-tissue dissection layer above the fascia.^[1]^[2]^[3]
Adipose tissue	Appendectomy Simulator, Z-Plasty Simulator	Thinner polyester batting layer set deeper in the abdominal wall (Appendectomy). In the Z-Plasty gelatin build, wool is teased into a gelatin:glycerine:water 2:6:12 fat-layer recipe as the fibre substrate.^[1]^[3]
Muscle	Appendectomy Simulator, Open Appendectomy Simulator (Matthews), Z-Plasty Simulator	Cotton batting layers with marker-drawn fibre striations for the oblique muscles (Matthews notes a cotton-polyester blend). In the Z-Plasty gelatin build, wool reinforces a gelatin:glycerine:water 8:8:2 muscle recipe.^[1]^[2]^[3]
Bowel (cecum and appendix)	Appendectomy Simulator, Open Appendectomy Simulator (Matthews), Acute Appendicitis Simulator	Cotton stuffing (cotton balls or loose cotton) bulks the procedure-glove cecum in all three builds; in the Appendectomy build cotton also packs the glove-finger appendix. The glove is the structural form and the cotton provides the fill.^[1]^[2]^[4]
Mesentery (mesoappendix)	Acute Appendicitis Simulator	Cotton stuffing (or gauze) layered around a vessel loop and wrapped in plastic film to form the mesoappendix.^[4]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ASAP (AMPATH Surgical App) team. Instructions to Build your Model, ASAP Syllabus. Global Surgical Training Challenge. ASAP build instructions and ASAP Syllabus course. Not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Matthews J, Bhatia MB, Thomas C, Okoth P, Martinez CR, Levy JS, Stefanidis D, Hunter-Squires JL, Saruni SI (2022). "AMPATH surgical app: Low-cost simulator for the open appendectomy." Surgery 172(6):1656–1664. DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2022.07.023. PMID: 36123174.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 AmoSmile Physical Simulator. AmoSmile team, Appropedia.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ALL-SAFE Consortium. ALL-SAFE Acute Appendicitis Simulation Build Instructions. Global Surgical Training Challenge; Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons, University of Michigan, Southern Illinois University, Soddo Christian Hospital, AIC Kijabe Hospital, and Mbingo Baptist Hospital, 2022. Build instructions PDF and ALL-SAFE source page. Build-instruction document not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.

At a Glance

Overview

Low-cost and widely available. Polyester batting and cotton batting are sold by the roll or by the yard/metre at fabric, craft and upholstery suppliers in low- to high-loft thicknesses; cotton wool, cotton balls and polyester fiberfill are sold by the bag at pharmacies and supermarkets; wool is sold as fleece or craft roving. Cut sheet forms to size with scissors, and tease loose forms apart by hand. Store dry.

Synonyms

Batting, wadding, fibrefill, fiberfill, quilt batting, quilter's batting; polyester batting, polyester fiberfill, cotton batting, cotton stuffing, cotton wool, cotton balls, wool batting; low-loft batting, high-loft batting. Regional: guata (Spanish), ouate / molleton (French), Watte / Vlies (German), ovatta (Italian), watten (Dutch). Also redirecting here (former page titles): cotton cloth, cotton and gauze.

Background

Clinical Context for Simulation

Processing & Preparation

Safety Considerations

Related Materials

Page data
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Authors	Arturopelayo
License	CC-BY-SA-4.0
Language	English (en)
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Redirects	TissueDB/Materials/Cotton and Gauze, TissueDB/Materials/Wool, TissueDB/Materials/Cotton Batting, TissueDB/Materials/Cotton Balls, TissueDB/Materials/Cotton, TissueDB/Materials/Cotton Cloth, TissueDB/Materials/Fiberfill, TissueDB/Materials/Cotton Stuffing, TissueDB/Materials/Polyester Batting
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Created	March 3, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Last edit	July 20, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Cite as	Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Materials/Batting". Appropedia. Retrieved July 23, 2026.
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[asap_build-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ASAP (AMPATH Surgical App) team. Instructions to Build your Model, ASAP Syllabus. Global Surgical Training Challenge. ASAP build instructions and ASAP Syllabus course. Not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.

[matthews2022-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Matthews J, Bhatia MB, Thomas C, Okoth P, Martinez CR, Levy JS, Stefanidis D, Hunter-Squires JL, Saruni SI (2022). "AMPATH surgical app: Low-cost simulator for the open appendectomy." Surgery 172(6):1656–1664. DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2022.07.023. PMID: 36123174.

[amosmile-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 AmoSmile Physical Simulator. AmoSmile team, Appropedia.

[allsafe_build-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ALL-SAFE Consortium. ALL-SAFE Acute Appendicitis Simulation Build Instructions. Global Surgical Training Challenge; Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons, University of Michigan, Southern Illinois University, Soddo Christian Hospital, AIC Kijabe Hospital, and Mbingo Baptist Hospital, 2022. Build instructions PDF and ALL-SAFE source page. Build-instruction document not indexed in PubMed; primary source linked directly.

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