Suture threads may be of natural or synthetic origin.
Natural threads (silk, linen and collagen) were the first to appear on the market but they are gradually replaced by synthetic threads made from synthetic polymers.
However, natural sutures are still used in certain cases (silk in eye surgery, for example) despite their disadvantages (strong capillary action, problems with tolerance, tissue reaction).
Non-absorbable synthetic suture thread appeared in the nineteen fifties, followed by absorbable synthetic thread which came onto the market in the 1970s.
The majority (80%) of sutures used nowadays are of synthetic origin.