Ernst Moro

Who was Ernst Moro?

Ernst Moro was an Austrian physician and pediatrician who discovered the infant reflex which was named after him.

Moro studied medicine in Graz, Austria, getting his M.D. in 1899. From 1901 to 1902 he worked with Theodor Escherich in Vienna, the discoverer of the Escherichia coli bacterium. He was habilitated for pediatrics in Munich in 1906, and became a professor of pediatrics in the University of Heidelberg in 1911.

Besides the Moro reflex he became also known for the following:

Proved the sterility of the normal small intestine

Discovered that breast-fed children have stronger bactericidal activity in their blood than bottle-fed ones

First described the irritable colon syndrome or recurrent abdominal pain in children

Isolated the bacterium Lactobacillus acidophilus from the stomach of children, which is caused by the souring of milk products

Developed the Moro test

Coined the terms "first trimester" and "biological spring"

Invented "Moro's milk", an infant-feeding formula composed by full cream milk with added 3% flour, 5% butter and 5-7% sugar.