What is the medical term for pain in the head?

The medical term for pain in the head is cephalalgia. This term is derived from the Greek words "cephale," meaning head, and "algos," meaning pain. Cephalalgia encompasses various types of headaches, including tension headaches and migraines, and is used primarily by healthcare professionals to describe this symptom in a clinical context.

Neuralgia refers to pain that follows the path of a nerve, which is not specific to the head, while ophthalmic relates to the eyes and does not pertain to head pain directly. Cephalitis, on the other hand, indicates inflammation of the head, often specifically the brain, and is a condition that differs from merely experiencing pain. Understanding these distinctions highlights why cephalalgia accurately describes head pain as a specific medical term.