The suffix -al is one of the most frequently encountered and broadly applied adjectival suffixes in all of medical terminology. It means “pertaining to,” “relating to,” “of,” or “having the character or nature of” the root word to which it is attached. It transforms nouns — most commonly Latin-derived anatomical, physiological, or pathological root words — into adjectives that describe a relationship, association, location, or quality connected to that root. In some instances, -al terms have been substantivized (converted into nouns) through common clinical usage, functioning as both adjective and noun depending on context (e.g., removal, referral, denial in administrative contexts; renal, urethral, corneal as pure adjectives in clinical contexts).
The suffix -al is so pervasive in medical language that it appears across virtually every organ system, specialty, and domain of medicine — from anatomical descriptors (renal, urethral, corneal, tympanic) to physiological descriptors (hormonal, neural, vascular) to pathological descriptors (tumoral, bacterial, fungal) to procedural descriptors (surgical, procedural, intravesical). Its ubiquity makes it one of the foundational building blocks of medical vocabulary.
In the context of urology, -al constructions are omnipresent in both ICD-10-CM diagnosis coding and ICD-10-PCS procedure coding. Body part descriptors, approach qualifiers, and device/substance qualifiers all rely heavily on -al adjectives to characterize the anatomical site, nature of the condition, or surgical approach. Terms such as renal, ureteral, urethral, vesical, gonadal, scrotal, perineal, adrenal, and prostatic (the latter from -ic but parallel in function) are foundational to urological coding specificity.
In ophthalmology, terms such as corneal, retinal, scleral, choroidal, orbital, lacrimal, conjunctival, uveal, macular, and vitreal are essential adjectival descriptors that directly drive ICD-10-CM code selection for ocular conditions and ICD-10-PCS body part value assignment for ophthalmic procedures.
In otolaryngology, terms such as tympanic, mastoid (note: -oid suffix but parallel anatomical function), laryngeal, pharyngeal, nasal, sinal (or sinusal), labyrinthial, cochlear, vestibular, septal, turbinal, and tonsillar rely on or parallel -al constructions to localize pathology and drive coding decisions.
Understanding -al as a suffix also helps coders recognize when a term is functioning as a descriptor of anatomical site versus a descriptor of etiology or quality — a distinction that can affect whether a code is assigned as a principal diagnosis, secondary diagnosis, or qualifier in ICD-10-PCS table navigation.
latin From Latin-alis — a highly productive Latin adjectival suffix meaning “of,” “belonging to,” “pertaining to,” or “of the nature of.” The suffix -alis attached to Latin nouns and stems to form adjectives, and this pattern was carried directly into medieval and modern medical Latin, then into English through Old French -al or directly from Latin. Some -al terms also derive from Greek roots that were Latinized before receiving the -alis ending. The suffix is closely cognate with and functionally parallel to other Latin adjectival endings including -aris (→ -ar), -arius (→ -ary), and -ilis (→ -ile), with the choice among them often determined by the phonological character of the root rather than any difference in meaning.
Aliases / Parallel Suffixes
-ar — variant of -al used after roots containing the letter l to avoid awkward repetition (e.g., muscular not muscular; vascular not vasalic; glandular, tubular, cochlear) — from Latin -aris
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