The author points out that organic mental disorders have been neglected for the past 30 years and that the classification of these disorders is obsolete. On the basis of the new explicit criteria formulated in DSM-III, the growing recognition that organic disorders constitute a major public health problem, the advances made in the neurosciences, and the current focus on chronic diseases and critical care medicine, however, he predicts an increase in interest in organic mental disorders in the coming years. He outlines the new classification system, suggesting that it should stimulate research and thus lead to sorely needed therapeutic advances.