Anamnesis, inspection, and palpation are the indispensable first steps towards a lymphological diagnosis. Do not be influenced by presented findings which are not your own. Remain deliberately unbiased and critical. Always consistently investigate the cause of the oedema. Collect your findings through a structured whole-body examination. Assign your diagnosis to a classification based on the anamnesis. Staging is achieved through simple clinical examination, measurement techniques, and apparatus-supported lymphoedema objectification. It helps with monitoring in the course of therapy. There is also stage 0, a lymphoedema one cannot see and feel, which, however, plays a significant role in the early development of a secondary, usually first "central" lymphoedema, such as after oncological treatment for breast cancer. Modern measurement techniques are available for the detection of this early oedema load.