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Instrument · Supplies

Scalpel Blade

Knife Blade · Surgical Blade · Bard-Parker Blade · #10 Blade · #11 Blade · #15 Blade · #20 Blade

A thin, single-use steel blade with a numbered shape and a slot in its base that slides onto a reusable knife handle. Blades come sterile, one per foil pack.

1 photo

On 231 setups
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Class
Supplies
On setups
231

On the table

What it does and the lengths it comes in.

  • What it’s for

    Sharp cutting: skin incisions, dissectiondy-SEK-shunA tear in the inner layer of an artery wall that lets blood split the layers apart; also, the cutting apart of tissue in surgery.Full entry and opening structures such as vessels, duraDOOR-uhThe tough outer layer of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.Full entry or ducts. Blades are opened for nearly every open case; the number pulled depends on the incisions planned (for example a #10 for the skin and a #15 for fine work).

  • Lengths and variants

    Bard-Parker numbering. #10: curved edge, curved tip. #11: straight edge, pointed tip. #12: hook edge, pointed tip. #15: narrow, curved edge, curved tip. #20: same shape as #10 but larger, often used for skin. #23: slightly curved edge, sharp tip. Blades #10 to #15 fit handles #3, #3L, #7 and #9; blades #20 to #28 fit handles #4 and #4L.

Through the case

In the order you meet it: before, during and after the case.

  • During the case

    Passing it

    How to pass it so it lands in the surgeon’s hand the right way round.Pro

  • During the case

    Caution

    What not to do with it, and why.Pro

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The 231 setups it is onA practice test and a timed exam for eachPro

On 231 setups

Every setup it is laid out on.

The list of setups

Every setup this instrument is laid out on, with photos of each table.

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1 source
  1. Fuller. Surgical Technology: Principles and Practice. 8th ed. Chapter 11 (Surgical Instruments), p. 191-192 and 204-205

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