Historical and Commemorative
Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
MARCELLO MALPIGHI ST URBAIN, Ferdinand de: Italy, 1693, Bronze, 36 mm
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) was an Italian physician
and anatomist who has been described as a founder of comparative physiology
and microscopic anatomy and the first histologist. Malpighi entered the
University at Bologna, graduating in medicine and philosophy. Later he
worked at the University of Piza, then at Messina and later returned to
Bologna. In 1691 he accepted the invitation of Pope Innocent XII to come to
Rome as his personal physician. Malpighi was the first to apply the newly invented
microscope to anatomical research. His first great observation was the
capillary circulation of blood, thus expanding on William Harvey’s theory on
how blood circulated in the body. By demonstrating the existence of
capillaries, he provided evidence for the link between arteries and veins
that had eluded Harvey. Many microscopic anatomical structures are named
after him, including a skin layer (Malpighi layer) and two different
Malpighian corpuscles in the kidneys and the spleen, as well as the
Malpighian tubules in the excretory system of insects. Some of these studies
he made by vivisection. Malpighi was also a pioneer in the science of embryology
where he studied chick embryo development, producing detailed drawings of
the process. In addition, he discovered taste buds of human tongue and
studied the anatomy of the brain, although his conclusion that brain is a
gland has proved incorrect. He was also the first to discover and study
human fingerprints. In addition to his anatomical studies in animals,
Malpighi was one of the rare contemporary scholars who investigated the
anatomy of plants, and he made important discoveries in this area as well.
He published his findings in a book Anatomia Plantarum in 1671. It
was the most exhaustive study of botany at the time. The Royal Society
published it the next year. It was this seminal work on plant physiology
that this medal commemorates. (Taken from Freeman and Wikipedia) LINK to
Portrait and
Biography of Malpighi (from wikipedia)
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