Abstract: A wound dressing, suitable for use in protecting an open wound or burned tissue from direct exposure to air and capable of maintaining an aqueous environment of wounded tissue with which it is in brought into contact is comprised of a hydrophilic, yet insoluble material, advantageously a polymeric compound capable of being reversibly complexed with elemental iodine, thereby permitting release of therapeutic amounts of free iodine into a wound with which it is brought in contact. As a shaped mass of pliable and absorbent material, such a polymeric foam, such dressing is particularly suited for application to fresh and infected burns and open wounds. When alternatively configured as a hydrophilic film complexed with free iodine for use as a surgical drape, in addition to providing a barrier against direct exposure to air, such dressing is bacteriocidal, preventing infection of the wound from airborne contaminants in the operating room.