The first step in adopting a practical approach to the management of patients with prostatitis lies in the realization that the etiology of the symptoms often remains unclear and the traditional etiologically based classification system is part of the problem and not the solution. This problem was recognized in 1995 by the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on prostatitis. It was suggested that the classification of this disease be changed. The traditional categories "chronic nonbacterial prostatitis" and "prostatodynia" were replaced by the new category "chronic pelvic pain syndrome." The introduction of the term "syndrome" reflects two issues: despite lack of evidence for bacterial involvement based on conventional methods, nonbacterial prostatitis may indeed still be an infectious disease, and the etiology of the symptoms may be caused by a disorder not related to the prostate gland alone.