Medical Mnemonics: Features of Horner’s Syndrome

Medical Mnemonics: Features of Horner’s Syndrome – “SAMPLE”

Medical Mnemonics

Horner’s Syndrome (Oculosympathetic paresis) is a rare neurologic condition whose symptoms and signs include:

Ptosis (drooping eyelid)
Anhidrosis (inability to sweat).
Miosis (pupil constriction)

Horner’s syndrome can be caused by any set of sympathetic nerve fiber injuries. Horner’s syndrome is generally classified into Central and Peripheral.

Central: Sympathetic nerves start in the brain and then travel down to the spinal cord and into the chest.
Peripheral: Sympathetic nerves start from the chest to the neck, arteries, head, and into the eyes.

Another feature of Horner’s syndrome is loss of ciliospinal reflex (pupil dilates when pressure / pain applied to neck or face. Patients with Horner’s syndrome also experience Enophthalmos (posterior displacement of the eyeball). These features can all be remembered by the mnemonic “SAMPLE”

S: Sympathetic Nerve Fiber Injury
A: Anhidrosis
M: Miosis
P: Ptosis
L: Loss of ciliospinal reflex
E: Enophthalmos