The modified BELL (MBELL) formula (Haque et al 2006 Phys. Rev. A 73 012708) has been applied to the M-shell ionization of neutral and ionic atoms to deduce thegeneralized'parameters of the 3s, 3p and 3d orbits. A single set of parameters for each of these orbits and that previously determined for each of 1s, 2s and 2p orbits can reproduce satisfactorily the features of the total electron impact ionization cross-sections (EIICS) of 21 M-shell targets in the Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ar and Ca isoelectronic sequences. The generalized parameters are also found to provide an excellent account of the M-shell EIICS data of Pb, Bi and U atoms at relativistic energies in the range from 20 to 250 MeV.