If a compound has more than one chiral stereocenter, each center is denoted by either R or S. For example, ephedrine exists in (1R,2S) and (1S,2R) stereoisomers, which are distinct mirror-image forms of each other, making them enantiomers. This compound also exists as the two enantiomers written (1R,2R) and (1S,2S), which are named pseudoephedrine rather than ephedrine. All four of these isomers are named 2-methylamino-1-phenyl-1-propanol in systematic nomenclature. However, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are diastereomers, or stereoisomers that are not enantiomers because they are not related as mirror-image copies. Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are given different names because, as diastereomers, they have different chemical properties, even for racemic mixtures of each.
More generally, for any pair of enantiomers, all of the descriptors are opposite: (R,R) and (S,S) are enantiomers, as are (R,S) and (S,R). Diastereomers have at least one descriptor in common; for example (R,S) and (R,R) are diastereomers, as are (S,R) and (S,S). This holds true also for compounds having more than two stereocenters: if two stereoisomers have at least one descriptor in common, they are diastereomers. If all the descriptors are opposite, they are enantiomers.
A meso compound is an achiral molecule, despite having two or more stereogenic centers. A meso compound is "superimposable" on its mirror image, therefore it reduces the number of stereoisomers predicted by the 2 rule. This occurs because the molecule obtains a plane of symmetry that causes the molecule to rotate around the central carbon–carbon bond. One example is meso-tartaric acid, in which (R,S) is the same as the (S,R) form. In meso compounds the R and S stereocenters occur in symmetrically positioned pairs.