Search around on the internet. I found a veterinary supply company that sold scalpels certified for animal, not human use, that were far cheaper than my school's bookstore. Since I was using them on a cadaver, I can't see how it could matter and the sizing system is the same.
I say go to the bookstore. If you are getting them for gross anatomy, once your group splits the cost, it isn't bad. That's what we did.
we have to buy our own gloves but not blades or any major equipment. in fact all we need is a blunt probe. that really stinks! i wish i knew where you could get cheap scalpel blades, did you try going to fisher? www.fishersci.com try looking there. i once bought razor blades off them albiet in a laboratory setting for like $10 / 100 blades. so they are good. good luck!
I hardly ever use my scalpel. If you work in a group, I say let somebody else buy a scalpel. Then you can use that scalpel for all of the three times during the year that you might use it. Make sure you have a good pair of scissors. They are much more useful and you are less likely to cut through a nerve. If you do end up buying scalpel blades, make sure you don't buy too many of them. My dissecting kit cost $13.00, and came with three (or was it five?) scalpel blades, scissors, and forceps. Those three scalpel blades are going to last me a LONG time (It doesn't seem like I'll use that first blade enough for it to get dull during anatomy lab.)
for anyone who's looking for cheap gloves, drugstore.com is having a sale now. Safeskin Powder-Free Purple Nitrile Gloves 40 ea (2 boxes for the price of 1) Ansell Medi-Touch Powder Free Latex Disposable Gloves 50 ea (also 2 for the price of 1)
For gloves and scrubs, I found www.allheart.com. Their gloves were 2 boxes (100 each) for $10. Scrub sets were around $14 each. They take about a week to get it to you (on the east coast). I thought they were a good company, and MUCH cheaper than anywhere that I have seen locally.
What sort of fluid do you guys use? In gross I used a single pair of latex gloves each day and didn't have any problems at all....
Wow, we didn't have to buy anything... gloves, scalpels, forceps, or otherwise. I would have gone ballistic if, after paying $25,000 in tuition, my school didn't see fit to toss some freakin' gloves my way.
dont know the exact formula. I know it had formaldehyde and some sort of alcohol. Only saw one person try to use the latex (we had been prewarned by Prof) and they had shreds of latex on their hands by the end of the lab period.
I also found out that our medical bookstore as well as the undergrad bookstore both sell scalpel blades for $.35 each.
