Malpighi

Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) advanced the field of anatomy in the microscopic realm. At the University of Pisa, Malpighi reevaluated the Medieval belief in black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood and sought answers to the medical problems of his time period. After graduating from and fulfilling a brief teaching career at the University of Pisa, Malpighi moved to Bologna where he performed anatomical research with microscopes. Malpighi is mostly known for discovering capillaries.

The next year, Malpighi performed microscopic studies at the University of Messina. Here, Malpighi discovered the taste buds, and described them as the ends of nerves. He also made advancements in anatomy at the university with his microscopic analyses on brain tissue, optic nerves, and adipose tissue. He was the first person to see red blood cells, which he attributed the red color of blood to.

Malpighi moved back to Bologna the year after his discovery of red blood cells where he performed microscopic studies on the brain, spleen, kidneys, liver, and bones. From his analyses, he theorized that all of the organs in the body are composed of glands, which are responsible for excretion of bodily juices.

His move back to Bologna is considered to be the peak of his career. He shifted his focus from human anatomy to the anatomy of other animal species. He performed a microscopic study on the silkworm and insect larvae. Additionally, he performed studies in embryology on baby chickens, which led to his discovery of the folds of the brain, somites, and the aorta. He performed studies that compared plant and animal development and structural organization, and discovered many similarities between the two.

Unfortunately, Malpighi, who himself had battled with health problems to begin with, faced opposition from his envious contemporaries, and his house was set on fire by an arsenist. The fire destroyed the literary works of Malpighi as well as the microscopes that he had used to perform his studies. Out of pity, Pope Innocent XII hired Malpighi to be his personal physician and was appointed to be a Roman count.

Impact:

Malpighi is considered to the father of histology and his work led to the future advancement of embryology, anatomy, and botany. Malpighi's discovery of capillaries also served as proof that Harvey's theory on the circulation of blood was correct and disproved the Medieval thought that flesh was composed of converted blood. Malpighi gained also gained liking from Pope Innocent XII, which further broke science away from traditional thought.

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