Golgi: a biography of the founder of modern neuroscience

Abstract

This book is a complete biography of Camillo one of most prominent European researcher between Nineteenth and Twentieth century, a period of dramatic scientific development. The life of was an extraordinary intellectual adventure in three major fields of biology and medicine, namely neuroscience, emerging cell biology and new science of medical microbiology. In 1873 published description of a revolutionary histological technique which allowed, for first time, to visualize a single nerve cell with all its ramification which could be followed and analyzed even at a great distance from cell bodies, so called (later named Golgi method). This invention provided spark to a truly scientific revolution which allowed morphology and basic architecture of cerebral tissue to be evidenced in all its complexity, thus contributing to foundation of modern neuroscience. It has been written that, in same way Galileo Galilei was able to find new stars observing with his telescope any sky region, was able to find new nervous structures and nerve cells by applying his black reaction to any brain region. Finally, details of most structure in known universe, brain, could be characterized. also strongly contributed to development of cell biology with discovery of one of major organelles of cell, internal reticular apparatus (later named Golgi apparatus or Golgi complex or simply the Golgi) and to medical microbiology with his description of human malaria parasitic development inside red blood cells (Golgi cycle). He was also a prominent political figure who deeply influenced Nineteenth century development of science in Italy.