The invention relates to a device (100) for treating woundsof the human or animal body using a vacuum and having agas-tight wound-covering element (4), which, when placed incontact with the body of the patient, forms a wound space(10) between the respective wound and the wound-coveringelement, at least one connecting site (5.1； 5.2), which isin contact with the wound space (10), an absorption body(2), which is a layer, enclosed in an envelope, of atextile section, interspersed with super-absorbingparticles, the envelope being permeable to liquids andhaving pores, the size of which does not exceed that of thesuper-absorbing particles. The absorption body (2), whichis to be inserted in the wound space (10), has an initialvolume, which enlarges in the course of the absorptionprocess, and a final volume, so that, due to the size ofthe pores of the envelope, the absorbed wound secretionsremain within the absorption body (2) and, with that, belowthe wound-covering element, until the absorption body isremoved from the wound space.
