ABSTRACT
Classification of diseases, such as glaucoma, into various categories, each distinguished from the other by some essential characteristic or set of characteristics. The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, and Clinical Modification are derived from a classification of diseases from the World Health Organization. It uses codes to classify all diseases and disorders, originally intended for indexing of hospital records by disease and operations for the purpose of data storage and retrieval. The mechanistic classification is probably the most common scheme for sorting out the various glaucomatous diseases. The main subdivisions in classification are “hyperbaric” and “normal” or “low tension” glaucoma. Classification by stage may be important for setting therapeutic goals, for prognosis, or for disability determinations. The European Glaucoma Society has published a document on terminology and guidelines for glaucoma with the “aim of improving the mutual understanding of this disease in addition to providing a rational approach to the diagnosis and management of glaucoma.”
