This article is about the material. For the racehorse, see Catgut (horse). For the species of seaweed, see Chorda filum.
Catgut (also known as gut) is a type of cord[1] that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines.[2] Catgut makers usually use sheep or goat intestines, but occasionally use the intestines of cattle,[3]hogs, horses, mules, or donkeys.[4] Despite the name, catgut is not made from cat intestines.
The word catgut may have been an abbreviation of the word "cattlegut". Alternatively, it may derive by folk etymology from kitgut or kitstring — the dialectal word kit, meaning fiddle, having at some point been confused with the word kit for a young cat, the word "kit" being possibly derived from Welsh.[5]
Common uses
Stringed instruments
Catgut violin strings
For a long time, catgut was the most common material for the strings of harps, lutes, violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, acoustic guitars and other stringed musical instruments, as well as older marching snare drums. Most musical instruments produced today use strings with cores made of other materials, generally steel or synthetic polymer. Gut strings are the natural choice for many classical and baroque string players,[6] and gut strings are still most commonly preferred in concert-tension pedal/grand and some lever harps because they give a richer, darker sound as well as withstanding high tension within low alto, tenor, and high-bass ranges.[6] Many acoustic guitarists moved away from gut strings in the early 1900s when the C. F. Martin & Company introduced steel strings, which gave greater volume to the guitar. "The demand for steel came from ensemble players, who couldn't make themselves heard clearly without it."[7] Within a few years the majority of Martin guitars were made with steel strings to accommodate the demand. After World War II, most classical and flamenco guitarists switched from catgut to the new nylon strings for their greater smoothness, durability, and stability of intonation.
Before 1900, the best strings for musical instruments were reputedly from Italy.[8] Musicians believed the best were from Naples, though Rome and other Italian cities also produced excellent strings. Today high quality gut strings are produced mostly in Italy, Germany, and the United States. They are also made elsewhere, for example in India and Morocco, for local use.
Sutures
Catgut suture was once a widely used material in surgical settings. Catgut sutures remain in use in developing countries where they are locally less expensive and easier to obtain.[citation needed] Catgut treated with chromium salts, known as chromic catgut, is also used in surgery.[9]
Tennis racquets
Natural gut is still used as a high-performance string in tennis racquets, although it had more popularity in the past and is being displaced by synthetic strings.
Clocks
Catgut is also traditionally used to hang the weights in grandfather clocks.
Watches
Catgut was also used in early pocket timepieces from their invention up until the use of Fusee chains.
Production
To prepare catgut, workers clean the small intestines, free them from any fat, and steep them in water. Then they scrape off the external membrane with a blunt knife, and steep the intestines again for some time in potassium hydroxide. Then they smooth and equalize the intestines by drawing them out. Lean animals yield the toughest gut.[10] Next, they twist the prepared gut strands together to make string. String diameter is determined by the thickness of the individual guts, and by the number used. A thin string, such as a violin E, uses only three or four guts, whereas a double bass string may use twenty or more. After twisting and drying, workers polish the strings to the required diameter.
Before the twentieth century, the strings were simply rubbed with an abrasive to smooth them. Today they are generally ground down to the desired diameter using a centerless grinder. After drying and polishing, workers bleach and disinfect the strings using sulfur dioxide, dye them if necessary, and sort them into sizes.
Catgut sutures are normally treated with a chromium salt solution to resist body enzymes, to slow the absorption process, and are called catgut chromic sutures—whereas untreated catgut sutures are called catgut plain sutures.[11]
References
^Underwood, Oscar Wilder (1913). Tariff schedules: Hearings before the Committee on ways and means. Strings for Musical Instruments. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5691. Retrieved February 27, 2010. [T]here is no such thing as crude catgut or catgut unmanufactured. Catgut is a manufactured article and a finished product; the crude form are the intestines or guts of sheep or other animals.
^Roenigk, Randall K.; Henry H. Roenigk (23 January 1996). Roenigk & Roenigk's dermatologic surgery: principles and practice. p. 93. ISBN9780824795030. Catgut sutures are made from the submucosal layer of the small intestine of sheep and the serosal layer of the small intestine of cattle.
^"The unusual uses for animal body parts". BBC. 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
^Hiskey, Daven (12 November 2010). "Violin strings were never made out of actual cat guts". TodayIFoundOut.com. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
^Booth, Arthur Woodward (1894). "The Preparation of Surgical Catgut". Therapeutic Gazette. Retrieved 2013-10-11 – via Books.google.com.
^ abBruggemeyer, Cecelia (Jan 22, 2018). "What are period instruments?". Youtube. Retrieved Jan 29, 2019.
^de Ste. Croix, Philip, editor. The Complete Guitar Encyclopedia, New York: Parragon Books, 2014, p. 14
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Catgut" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 515.
^Start, N J; Armstrong, A M; Robson, W J (1989). "The use of chromic catgut in the primary closure of scalp wounds in children". Archives of Emergency Medicine. 6 (3): 216–219. doi:10.1136/emj.6.3.216. ISSN 0264-4924. PMC1285609. PMID 2789586.
^"Types of Catgut Sutures". Dolphin Sutures. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catgut.
January 08, 2023
catgut, this, article, about, material, racehorse, horse, species, seaweed, chorda, filum, also, known, type, cord, that, prepared, from, natural, fiber, found, walls, animal, intestines, makers, usually, sheep, goat, intestines, occasionally, intestines, catt. This article is about the material For the racehorse see Catgut horse For the species of seaweed see Chorda filum Catgut also known as gut is a type of cord 1 that is prepared from the natural fiber found in the walls of animal intestines 2 Catgut makers usually use sheep or goat intestines but occasionally use the intestines of cattle 3 hogs horses mules or donkeys 4 Despite the name catgut is not made from cat intestines A coil of catgut cello string Contents 1 Etymology 2 Common uses 2 1 Stringed instruments 2 2 Sutures 2 3 Tennis racquets 2 4 Clocks 2 5 Watches 3 Production 4 References 5 External linksEtymology EditThe word catgut may have been an abbreviation of the word cattlegut Alternatively it may derive by folk etymology from kitgut or kitstring the dialectal word kit meaning fiddle having at some point been confused with the word kit for a young cat the word kit being possibly derived from Welsh 5 Common uses EditStringed instruments Edit Catgut violin stringsFor a long time catgut was the most common material for the strings of harps lutes violins violas cellos and double basses acoustic guitars and other stringed musical instruments as well as older marching snare drums Most musical instruments produced today use strings with cores made of other materials generally steel or synthetic polymer Gut strings are the natural choice for many classical and baroque string players 6 and gut strings are still most commonly preferred in concert tension pedal grand and some lever harps because they give a richer darker sound as well as withstanding high tension within low alto tenor and high bass ranges 6 Many acoustic guitarists moved away from gut strings in the early 1900s when the C F Martin amp Company introduced steel strings which gave greater volume to the guitar The demand for steel came from ensemble players who couldn t make themselves heard clearly without it 7 Within a few years the majority of Martin guitars were made with steel strings to accommodate the demand After World War II most classical and flamenco guitarists switched from catgut to the new nylon strings for their greater smoothness durability and stability of intonation Before 1900 the best strings for musical instruments were reputedly from Italy 8 Musicians believed the best were from Naples though Rome and other Italian cities also produced excellent strings Today high quality gut strings are produced mostly in Italy Germany and the United States They are also made elsewhere for example in India and Morocco for local use Sutures Edit Catgut suture was once a widely used material in surgical settings Catgut sutures remain in use in developing countries where they are locally less expensive and easier to obtain citation needed Catgut treated with chromium salts known as chromic catgut is also used in surgery 9 Tennis racquets Edit Natural gut is still used as a high performance string in tennis racquets although it had more popularity in the past and is being displaced by synthetic strings Clocks Edit Catgut is also traditionally used to hang the weights in grandfather clocks Watches Edit Catgut was also used in early pocket timepieces from their invention up until the use of Fusee chains Production EditTo prepare catgut workers clean the small intestines free them from any fat and steep them in water Then they scrape off the external membrane with a blunt knife and steep the intestines again for some time in potassium hydroxide Then they smooth and equalize the intestines by drawing them out Lean animals yield the toughest gut 10 Next they twist the prepared gut strands together to make string String diameter is determined by the thickness of the individual guts and by the number used A thin string such as a violin E uses only three or four guts whereas a double bass string may use twenty or more After twisting and drying workers polish the strings to the required diameter Before the twentieth century the strings were simply rubbed with an abrasive to smooth them Today they are generally ground down to the desired diameter using a centerless grinder After drying and polishing workers bleach and disinfect the strings using sulfur dioxide dye them if necessary and sort them into sizes Catgut sutures are normally treated with a chromium salt solution to resist body enzymes to slow the absorption process and are called catgut chromic sutures whereas untreated catgut sutures are called catgut plain sutures 11 References Edit Underwood Oscar Wilder 1913 Tariff schedules Hearings before the Committee on ways and means Strings for Musical Instruments U S Government Printing Office p 5691 Retrieved February 27 2010 T here is no such thing as crude catgut or catgut unmanufactured Catgut is a manufactured article and a finished product the crude form are the intestines or guts of sheep or other animals Roenigk Randall K Henry H Roenigk 23 January 1996 Roenigk amp Roenigk s dermatologic surgery principles and practice p 93 ISBN 9780824795030 Catgut sutures are made from the submucosal layer of the small intestine of sheep and the serosal layer of the small intestine of cattle The unusual uses for animal body parts BBC 2011 06 06 Retrieved 2013 10 11 Hiskey Daven 12 November 2010 Violin strings were never made out of actual cat guts TodayIFoundOut com Retrieved 15 December 2015 Booth Arthur Woodward 1894 The Preparation of Surgical Catgut Therapeutic Gazette Retrieved 2013 10 11 via Books google com a b Bruggemeyer Cecelia Jan 22 2018 What are period instruments Youtube Retrieved Jan 29 2019 de Ste Croix Philip editor The Complete Guitar Encyclopedia New York Parragon Books 2014 p 14 Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Catgut Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 5 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 515 Start N J Armstrong A M Robson W J 1989 The use of chromic catgut in the primary closure of scalp wounds in children Archives of Emergency Medicine 6 3 216 219 doi 10 1136 emj 6 3 216 ISSN 0264 4924 PMC 1285609 PMID 2789586 Workshop Companion Chestofbooks com Retrieved 2013 10 11 Types of Catgut Sutures Dolphin Sutures Retrieved 2014 01 07 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catgut Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Catgut amp oldid 1128672630, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
