The suffix -ical indicates which meaning?

• A. Pain
• B. Without
• C. Pertaining to
• D. Procedure

Answer: (C)

In medical terms, the suffix -ical is used to form adjectives that describe a relationship or characteristic, meaning “pertaining to” or “having the nature of.” It’s how we turn a root into a descriptor about what something relates to, rather than a noun, action, or negation.

This suffix is used in words like anatomical (pertaining to anatomy) or clinical (pertaining to the clinic/clinical practice). It does not convey pain (that would involve endings like -algia or -odynia), does not mean “without” (which would come from prefixes like a-, in-, or the suffix -less), and does not denote a procedure (which would be endings like -ectomy, -otomy, -plasty, etc.).

So, the meaning indicated by the suffix -ical is “pertaining to.”