Update on diagnoses of sexual dysfunctions: controversies surrounding the proposed revisions of existing diagnostic entities and proposed new diagnoses.

The diagnosis of sexual dysfunction(s) or disorder(s) is paramount to the development of the field of sexual medicine. Historically, the diagnoses of these disorders have been considered reliable. The validity of diagnoses of sexual disorders (and the rest of our classification systems) has recently been questioned, especially from the point of clinical utility and homogeneity. This review discusses the issues involved in the development of valid and useful diagnoses of sexual disorders, reviews the proposed changes in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, as well as the problems inherent in the revision of this (and any) diagnostic system, and suggests some possible remedies to this process.