Table 1.

The history of materials used in medical applications.

Application	Material	Who and When	Additional Notes
Sutures	Linen	Early Egyptian civilization [10].	Linen was discovered to be extremely complimentary to human cells. It was extremely absorbent and capable of reducing fever as it is antibacterial. In addition, it can keep dust from passing and other properties that let it be handy [11].
	Catgut	Used by Europeans during the Middle Ages [10].	Catgut’s capacity for withstanding tension and its ability to last make it the perfect material for sutures [12].
	Heads of large biting ants	Famously seen in South Africa and India [10].	Ants were used as “suturing devices”, because they had powerful mandibles. They were put extremely close to the wound and bit directly against both margins of the cut, reducing the distance between them. The ant’s body would split after a certain period, leaving the head and bite firmly in place to preserve a closed wound [13].
Hip prostheses	Wood	The first attempt at repairing a broken hip is made in 1840 [14].	A wooden block did not replace any biological tissue, but it was inserted between the broken ends of the hip! Following such a procedure, more and more foreign and biological elements were inserted [15].
	Ivory	Glück’s implant was a ball and socket prosthesis in 1880 [14].	Ivory is a substance found in various biological components, including elephant tusks, boar teeth, and many more. It is recognized to have various desirable features, including mechanical properties, machinability, and homogeneity [8].
	Glass	Smith-Petersen used to fit with the hip joint in 1925 [10].	Despite its moderate biocompatibility, glass was unsuccessful as a hip prosthesis material. The smooth surface of the 1925 glass as an entire hip prosthesis quickly cracked under the pressures exerted by the joint [16].
Dental Restorative materials	Gold	In 1795, Robert Wolfendale was the first to employ gold (gold foil) for tooth repair.Later, in 1855, gold foil was found to be a cohesive substanc [17].	Gold foil is composed of pure gold and is desirable to use in the tooth restoration process with cold work. This temperature range is beneficial, which results in an exact filling. However, gold mechanical resistance is incompatible with the application, so it was only employed for extremely tiny holes [18].
	Zirconia	In 1789, German chemists learned how to use it [19].	Approximately 20 years ago, zirconia emerged as a promising restorative dental material due to its superior mechanical qualities. The decision to employ zirconia was primarily driven by its exceptional strength, making it suitable for load-bearing applications. However, despite its advantageous mechanical properties, zirconia fell short in terms of aesthetic appearance due to its opaque coloration [19].