Separation of Abbott's Proprietary Pharmaceuticals Business (Details) (USD $) In Billions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2011 item	Dec. 31, 2011 Proprietary Pharmaceuticals Business
Separation of Abbott's Proprietary Pharmaceuticals Business
Number of public companies after spin-off	2
Spin-off of Abbott's Proprietary Pharmaceuticals Business
Annual net sales		$ 17.4

Amount of sales or other form of revenues attributable to the disposal group, including a component of the entity (discontinued operation), during the reporting period.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 144

-Paragraph 47

-Subparagraph c

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 205

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (c)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1361-107760

Name:	us-gaap_DisposalGroupIncludingDiscontinuedOperationRevenue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration