A system to promote the healing of an exuding wound includes a wound dressing, a subatmospheric pressure mechanism, and a collection canister. The wound dressing is dimensioned for positioning relative to a wound bed of a subject. The subatmospheric pressure mechanism includes a control unit disposed within a housing. The control unit includes a vacuum source associated with a vacuum port. The collection canister has an interior wall which defines an internal chamber. The internal chamber is in fluid communication with the vacuum source of the subatmospheric pressure mechanism through the vacuum port and with the wound dressing for collecting exudates removed for the wound bed under influence of the vacuum source. The canister including a baffle mechanism disposed within the internal chamber for dampening the movement of the collected exudates.