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Catgut |
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Catgut is cord prepared, usually from the intestines of sheep or goat. It can also be created using the intestines of a hog, horse, mule, pig or donkey. In spite of the name it is not ever made from the intestines of a cat.
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The word catgut is thought to have originated from the word kitgut or kitstring, the word kit meaning fiddle. It is thought to have at some point been confused with the word kitty for little cat. 1
To prepare it, the intestines are cleaned, freed from fat, and steeped for some time in water, after which their external membrane is scraped off with a blunt knife. They are then steeped for some time in an alkaline lye, smoothed and equalized by drawing out, subjected to the antiseptic action of the fumes of burning sulfur, if necessary dyed, sorted into sizes, and twisted together into cords of various numbers of strands according to their uses.citation needed The best strings for musical instruments are reputedly from Italy, “Roman strings”; and it is found that lean and ill-fed animals yield the toughest gut.citation needed
For a long time, the substance was the de facto material for the strings of harps, violins, and viols, as well as other stringed musical instruments, although most musical instruments produced today use strings with cores made of other materials, generally steel or synthetic. Catgut is still used as a high-performance string in tennis racquets, although it did enjoy more popularity in the past and is being displaced by high-quality synthetic strings. Other uses of catgut include hanging the weights of clocks and for bow-strings.
The Muslim physician al-Zahrawi used it as a surgical instrument in the 10th centurycitation needed, but its use in the Western medical field did not become popular until the 19th century.citation needed It replaced silk and hemp sutures which caused inflammation and severe hemorrhage because the body could not absorb them.
There is currently some debate about whether to use catgut in a medical setting as cotton has proved to be cheaper and wounds sewed using a cotton or synthetic thread are less prone to infection2
Catgut is the material of the Punjab lasso used by the Phantom, in The Phantom of the Opera3
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