| slow | To go slower; often with up; as, the train slowed up before crossing the bridge. 1. Moving a short space in a relatively long time; not swift; not quick in motion; not rapid; moderate; deliberate; as, a slow stream; a slow motion. 2. Not happening in a short time; gradual; late. "These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast." (Milton) 3. Not ready; not prompt or quick; dilatory; sluggish; as, slow of speech, and slow of tongue. "Fixed on defense, the Trojans are not slow To guard their shore from an expected foe." (Dryden) 4. Not hasty; not precipitate; acting with deliberation; tardy; inactive. "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding." (Prov. Xiv. 29) 5. Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time; as, the clock or watch is slow. 6. Not advancing or improving rapidly; as, the slow growth of arts and sciences. 7. Heavy in wit; not alert, prompt, or spirited; wearisome; dull. Slow is often used in the formation of compounds for the most part self-explaining; as, slow-gaited, slow-paced, slow-sighted, slow-winged, and the like. Slow coach, a slow person. See def.7, above. <zoology> Slow lemur, or Slow loris, an East Indian nocturnal lemurine animal (Nycticebus tardigradus) about the size of a small cat; so called from its slow and deliberate movements. It has very large round eyes and is without a tail. Called also bashful Billy. Slow match. See Match. Synonym: Dilatory, late, lingering, tardy, sluggish, dull, inactive. Slow, Tardy, Dilatory. Slow is the wider term, denoting either a want of rapid motion or inertness of intellect. Dilatory signifies a proneness to defer, a habit of delaying the performance of what we know must be done. Tardy denotes the habit of being behind hand; as, tardy in making up one's acounts. Origin: OE. Slow, slaw, AS. Slaw; akin to OS. Slu blunt, dull, D. Sleeuw, slee, sour, OHG. Slo blunt, dull, Icel. Slr, slr, Dan. Slov, Sw. Slo. Cf. Sloe, and Sloth. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| slow channel-blocking agent | calcium channel-blocking agent |
| slow combustion | See: decay. Spontaneous combustion, the ignition of a mass of material by heat developed within it by the oxidation of the substances composing it without external ignition. (05 Mar 2000) |
| slow fever | A continued fever of long duration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| slow muscle | <physiology> Striated muscle used for long term activity (e.g. Postural support). Depend therefore on oxidative metabolism and have many mitochondria and abundant myoglobin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| slow pyrolysis | Thermal conversion of biomass to fuel by slow heating to less than 450>C in the absence of oxygen. (05 Dec 1998) |
| slow ray | <microscopy> The slower of the two rays created by a crystal or fibre and the one that travels the path of higher refractive index. (05 Aug 1998) |
| slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis | <immunology> Potent bronchoconstrictor and inflammatory agent released by mast cells, an important mediator of allergic bronchial asthma. A mixture of three leukotrienes (LTC4 mainly, LTD4 and LTE4) (18 Nov 1997) |
| slow scan | <microscopy> A system of video scanning in which the time used to read each line has been increased in comparison to standard video. The bandwidth needed to faithfully transmit or record the signal is reduced in inverse ratio to the scanning time. Slow scan allows the video signal to be transmitted over a telephone line, or line scans to be registered on a chart recorder. (19 Jan 1998) |
| slow virus | 1. <virology> Specifically one of the Lentivirinae 2. Any virus causing a disease that has a very slow onset. Diseases such as sub acute spongiform encephalopathy, Aleutian disease of mink, scrapie, kuru and Creutzfeldt Jacob disease may be caused by slow viruses. See: prion. (18 Nov 1997) |
| slow virus disease | A disease that follows a slow, progressive course spanning months to years, frequently involving the central nervous system, and ultimately leading to death, such as visna and maedi of sheep, caused by viruses of the subfamily Lentivirinae (family Retroviridae), and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, seemingly caused by the measles virus; spongiform encephalopathies including kuru of man, scrapie of sheep, and transmissible encephalopathy of mink may also be classified under slow virus disease but their respective aetiologic agents have not been adequately characterised. (05 Mar 2000) |
| slow virus diseases | Diseases of viral origin, characterised by incubation periods of months to years, insidious onset of clinical manifestations, and protracted clinical course. Though the disease process is protracted, viral multiplication may not be unusually slow. Conventional viruses produce slow virus diseases such as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (leukoencephalopathy, progressive multifocal), and aids. Diseases produced by unconventional agents were originally considered part of this group. They are now called prion diseases. (12 Dec 1998) |
| slow-reacting factor of anaphylaxis | Slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A), a leukotriene of low molecular weight which is released in anaphylactic shock and produces slower and more prolonged contraction of muscle than does histamine; it is active in the presence of antihistamines (but not epinephrine) and seems not to occur preformed in mast cells, but as a result of an antigen-antibody reaction on the granules. Compare: peptidyl leukotrienes. Synonym: slow-reacting factor of anaphylaxis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| slow-reacting substance | Slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A), a leukotriene of low molecular weight which is released in anaphylactic shock and produces slower and more prolonged contraction of muscle than does histamine; it is active in the presence of antihistamines (but not epinephrine) and seems not to occur preformed in mast cells, but as a result of an antigen-antibody reaction on the granules. Compare: peptidyl leukotrienes. Synonym: slow-reacting factor of anaphylaxis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| slows | <medicine> Milk sickness. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| arrhythmias, slow | Abnormally slow heart rhythms, medically termed bradycardia. (12 Dec 1998) |
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