The man behind the syndrome: Friedrich Horner

Abstract

Although oculosympathetic lesions were described in the early 18th century in animal experiments, detailed description in humans, with the well-known triad of miosis, ptosis and enophthalmos comprising Horner's syndrome, is accredited to the Swiss ophthalmologist Friedrich Horner (1831-1886). This paper briefly reviews the symptoms and localization of the lesion with currently available diagnostic aids, and sketches the eponymous life behind Horner's syndrome.