Chromic catgut
Natural absorbable suture derived from purified collagen (typically bovine intestinal serosa or ovine intestinal submucosa), treated with chromium salts to delay absorption and reduce tissue reaction compared with plain catgut.
How it is used
A traditional suture still used in some obstetric and gynecologic contexts (for example, episiotomy or vaginal mucosa repair), though in many settings it has largely been replaced by synthetic absorbable sutures.
Clinical tip
It is absorbed by enzymatic digestion (proteolysis) rather than hydrolysis, making its absorption profile more variable and less predictable than synthetic sutures, with greater tissue inflammatory reaction; the strand also softens and becomes harder to handle once wet.
Sources
This entry is part of the Instriq catalog, researched and written per specialty from real web research -- never generated or invented without verification -- and reviewed skeptically and independently before publication. How this catalog is written.
Image: Saltanat ebli. License CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication). View original source.
History
Added to the catalog on 2026-10-05.
Dates derived from the project's public version-control history on GitHub, not a live collaborative edit log.