n 1  :  the small platform of a microscope on which an object is placed for examination  2  :  a period or step in a process, activity, or development: as  a  :  one of the distinguishable periods of growth and development of a plant or animal <the larval of an insect>   b  :  a period or phase in the course of a disease <the sweating of malaria>   c  :  one of two or more operations performed at different times but constituting a single procedure <a two-stage thoracoplasty>   d  :  any of the four degrees indicating depth of general anesthesia .
 
 
 
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