A 36-year-old male patient was involved in an altercation and now has a 2-inch laceration from a knife to the right side of his neck. Bleeding was controlled prior to your arrival by Emergency Medical Responders. Your paramedic partner has asked you to apply an occlusive dressing to the wound. You recognize that the primary benefit of the action is to:

A) Prevent the cervical collar from touching the wound, if one is applied
B) Control the bleeding from large blood vessels so the patient does not become hypotensive
C) Prevent air entry into the circulatory system
D) Promote clot formation so as to stop bleeding

C) Prevent air entry into the circulatory system