Marcello Malpighi: the nervous system under a microscope.

Eliasz Engelhardt

doi:10.1590/0004-282x-anp-2020-0309

Eliasz Engelhardt

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0004-282x-anp-2020-0309

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Abstract

The longstanding study of gross anatomy experienced a considerable improvement with the advent of the microscope in the early 17th century. The representative personality of this new era certainly was Marcello Malpighi, seen as "founder of microscopic anatomy". He studied, with a rudimentary compound microscope, numerous tissues and organs of several classes of animals, as well as plants. He described, for the first time, the microscopic structure of the nervous system, identifying in the gray matter of its various levels minute elements he took as "glands". It should be reminded that the concept of "cell" (and "nerve cell") was unknown at his time. Many researchers followed, performing microscopic studies, but without better results, and Malpighi's view was maintained until the beginning of the 19th century, when new histological processing and staining techniques appeared, as well as improved microscopes.

Highlights

The study of anatomy has aroused the interest of innumerous researchers since the far antiquity, and gross features were revealed through dissection of varied classes of animals, and in some periods, of human corpses[1,2]
The advent of the microscope permitted to expand the anatomic findings with the study of the fine structure of tissues and organs[3]
Malpighi obtained the degree of Philosophy and of Medicine (1653), and became successively Professor of Medicine at the Universities of Bologna, Pisa, and Messina. He was introduced to the microscope while in Pisa (1656), being apparently one of the first to use the compound instrument, turning possible much of his research

Summary

Introduction

MALPIGHI’S CAREERThe study of anatomy has aroused the interest of innumerous researchers since the far antiquity, and gross features were revealed through dissection of varied classes of animals, and in some periods, of human corpses[1,2]. The cortical substance (gray matter - glands) was found inside the cerebral ventricles (basal nuclei), in the beginning of the spinal medulla (medulla oblongata) (brain stem), in the external sheet of the cerebellum, scattered in many places under the pons of Varolius, and inside the entire spinal medulla (spinal cord).

Results

Conclusion