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Amount paid or received to resolve the preacquisition contingency.

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Commitments and Contingencies (Details) $ in Millions										1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies (Details) $ in Millions	Dec. 01, 2015 claim	Aug. 07, 2015 patent	Dec. 04, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 22, 2014 patent	Jun. 20, 2013 USD ($)	May. 01, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 28, 2013 USD ($)	Aug. 19, 2010 landfill	Jun. 29, 2007	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 30, 2015 USD ($) claim	Oct. 24, 2014 USD ($)	Oct. 30, 2015 USD ($) claim	Oct. 24, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 24, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 26, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 25, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 25, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 26, 2013 USD ($)	Apr. 07, 2009 USD ($) milestone_payment
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrued certain litigation charges											$ 777		$ 777		$ 879
Certain litigation charges											26	$ 0	26	$ 0
Total contingent milestone payments										$ 291	$ 368	$ 91	368	$ 91	$ 264		$ 87	$ 68
Covidien plc [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Tax sharing percentage, parent									42.00%
Tax sharing percentage, former parent									27.00%
Tax sharing percentage, former affiliate									31.00%
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Estimate of additional taxes owed					$ 914
Estimate of additional penalties owed					154
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member] \| Tax Year 1997 Through Tax Year 2000 [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Disallowed deductions					3,000
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member] \| Tax Years Subsequent to 2000 [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Disallowed deductions					$ 6,600
Indemnification Agreement [Member] \| Tax Years Prior To 2013 [Member] \| Covidien plc [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Maximum potential loss for tax indemnification																			$ 200
Orrington, Maine Chemical Manufacturing Facility [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of landfills requiring removal \| landfill								2
Number of landfills requiring capping \| landfill								3
Penobscot River and Bay Remediation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Low cost estimate for potential remediation													25
High cost estimate for potential remediation													$ 235
INFUSE [Member] \| Product liability litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of pending claims \| claim											6,000		6,000
Certain litigation charges											$ 26		$ 26
INFUSE [Member] \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Product liability litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of claims settled \| claim	3,900
Pelvic mesh [Member] \| Product liability litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of pending claims \| claim											11,500		11,500
Settlement receivable										$ 121
Pelvic mesh [Member] \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Product liability litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of claims settled \| claim	4,200
Ethicon patent infringement [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Patents found not infringed \| patent		4		7
Patents found invalid \| patent				5
Ethicon patent infringement [Member] \| Positive Outcome of Litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Damages awarded - gain (reversal of gain)			$ (177)				$ 177
Acquisition Agreement with Appriva Medical, Inc. [Member] \| Breach of Contract [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of contingent milestone payments \| milestone_payment																				4
Total contingent milestone payments																				$ 175
Damages awarded - loss						$ 175
Acquisition Agreement with Appriva Medical, Inc. [Member] \| Breach of Contract [Member] \| Covidien plc [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrued certain litigation charges																$ 35
Settlement of preacquisition contingency											$ 65		$ 65