A generally accepted internationally uniform classification of headach
e, rind cephalic and trigeminal neuralgia is an indispensible conditio
n for any effective basic research and communication in clinical work.
Since the etiopathogenesis especially for the so-called primary heada
che is unknown the classification has to be based on clinical-phenomen
ological aspects. Internationally the classification of the Ad Hoc Com
mittee on Classification of Headache published in 1962 has been used u
ntil recently. German speaking countries mostly followed the classific
ations according to Heyck (1982) which are based on the classification
s of the Ad Hoc Committee. An entirely new classification completed af
ter almost three years work by an international gremium of experts was
published in 1988 by the Headache Classification Committee of the Int
ernational Headache Society (IHS). The german translation appeared in
1989. Diagnostic criteria were adapted to the International Classifica
tion of Diseases (ICD) and harmonized with the ideas of the World Fede
ration of Neurology, the American Federation of Neurology and the Inte
rnational Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). The classification
of the IHS is a system of hierarchically organized, detailed, operati
onalized criteria for reproducable and reliable diagnosis; however, th
e precisions involve an increase in complexity. The new IHS classifica
tion is a must for the actual standard of diagnosing and treating head
ache.