alaealised

Alaealised is a rarely used adjective in anatomy and biology that describes something possessing or having developed alae, which are wing-like or lateral projections. The term is built from the Latin ala, meaning wing, with the -aeal element indicating a relation to those wing-like structures, and the suffix -ised (or -ized) marking a descriptive or past participle form in English. The plural noun alae refers to such wing-like folds or flaps found in various organisms and body regions, including the alae nasi of the human nose, which are the lateral surfaces flanking the nostrils.

In practice, alaealised descriptions appear primarily in technical morphology, comparative anatomy, paleontology, or descriptive zoology. They indicate that a structure exhibits lateral expansions or wing-like margins that resemble the alae of other anatomical features. For example, a fossil skull may be described as alaealised if the lateral margins form pronounced wing-like extensions, or a soft-tissue description might note alaealised regions where ectodermal folds create wing-like flaps. Because the term is uncommon, it is typically used within specific descriptive disciplines rather than in broad medical or biological literature.

Spelling variants include alaealized in American English. Related terms include ala (wing), alar (pertaining to a wing or wing-like feature), and alae (the wing-like structures themselves).

See also: alae, ala (wing), alar.