Moro reflex
Reflejo de Moro
- Date
- 1918 · confidence medium
- Place
- Heidelberg, Germany
- Credited to
- Ernst Moro
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
An infant reflex present from 32 weeks of gestation to six months of age, involving the arms spreading out then pulling in, usually with crying, in response to a sudden loss of support. Its absence or asymmetry is a key clinical sign for assessing a newborn's central nervous system.
Described by Austrian paediatrician Ernst Moro in 1918, while working at the University of Heidelberg.
What it led to
- standardised neurological examination of newborns
- early detection of infant neurological and muscular disorders
- clinical distinction from the startle response