Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Moro reflex Pronunciation:
'mor-O- Function:
noun : a reflex reaction of infants upon being startled (as by a loud noise or a bright light) thatis characterized by extension of the arms and legs away from the body and to the side and then by drawing them together as if in an embrace
Moro,
Ernst (1874–1951),German pediatrician. Moro is remembered for his isolation of a bacterium of the genus
Lactobacillus (
L. acidophilus) in 1900 and for his introduction of a percutaneous tuberculin reactionas a diagnostic test in 1908. The characteristic reflex reaction of young infants to a sudden startling stimulus is named in his honor.
