A surgical bowl set features a first rectilinear bowl having an internal length (1l) and an internal width (1w), and a second rectilinear bowl having an external length (2l) and an external width (2w), in which the external length (2l) is close to but less than internal length (1l) in order to permit the second bowl to fit lengthwise within the first bowl while allowing easy extraction of the second bowl from the first bowl, and the external width (2w) is about half or less of internal width (1w).