What does squaring the incision refer to?

• A. Placing four towels in a square around the incision site
• B. Laying towels along the sides of the incision
• C. Using four ribbons to mark the incision
• D. Building a square of gauze at the wound

Answer: (A)

Squaring the incision means creating a defined, square sterile field around the operative site by placing four towels at the corners of the incision. This arrangement establishes predictable boundaries for draping, helps contain irrigation fluids, and isolates the wound from surrounding skin to reduce contamination risk. It also provides a symmetrical area for instrument placement and further draping steps, making the setup efficient and reproducible. Other approaches don’t create the same clear boundary or fluid control, so they don’t offer the same level of aseptic protection.