[The international classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF) in dermatological rehabilitation: conception, application, perspective].

Medical rehabilitation represents the interdisciplinary management of a person's functional health. This term implies concepts of functioning, disability and health and represents the core notion of the international classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF). Four components -- anatomic structure, body functions, activities and participation, environmental factors and personal factors -- make the ICF applicable from a biological, individual and social perspective. At present the ICF is used as a system of classification, a research tool and as a theoretical basis in rehabilitation medicine. Its clinical application will depend on the improvement of its practicability and compatibility with currently used tools in dermatologic rehabilitation. ICF offers the opportunity to define, weight and classify diseases of the skin and their psychosocial consequences.