Giulio Bizzozero: a pioneer of cell biology.

The Italian pathologist Giulio Bizzozero began his haematological investigations more than 130 years ago. Among his outstanding achievements was the discovery of the role of platelets in haemostasis and the identification of the bone marrow as the site of production of blood cells. One hundred years after his untimely death, the significance of these, and many more of his findings, is still recognized.

Contributions of Camillo Golgi to renal histology and embryology.

Camillo Golgi was awarded the Nobel prize in 1906 for his studies on the fine anatomy of the central nervous system. His wide present popularity depends on his discovery of the cell apparatus, the tendon mechanoreceptor and the tactile corpuscles of the fingertips that are named after him. However, Golgi also made important contributions to nephrology. In 1882, he published novel observations on the mechanism of renal hypertrophy, which he understood to be due to renal cell proliferation. Two years later, he described tubular cell mitoses in the kidney of a patient with tubulointerstitial nephritis, which he interpreted as an essential part of the repair process. His most important findings, published in 1889, were obtained by studying the microscopic anatomy of the kidney with an original technique that allowed the isolation of whole intact nephrons. He discovered that the ascending limb of Henle's loop always returned to the glomerulus from which the tubule originated, and he realized that the early distal tubule passed between the glomerular arterioles. In addition, applying the same method to dissect nephrons in progressive phases of development, he identified exactly what tubular segments originated from the various parts of the metanephric early S-shaped structure.

The Museum for the History of the University of Pavia and the birth of histology.

A brief overview is provided on the development of histology as an independent discipline at the University of Pavia, through documents and preparations preserved in the Museum for the History of the University. Studies on the organization of tissues and cells started blooming in the mid-1850s, when morphological observations were supported by significant technical advancements in microscopy and tissue preparation. The role of Albert Koelliker, the great father of European Histology in the second half of the 19th century, is also discussed. Koelliker had several contacts with Camillo Golgi and promoted the diffusion of Golgi's discoveries. The authors also underline the innovative role of Camillo Golgi in the histological approach to research and in the foundation of modern histology.

[Golgi's documents about the history of malaria]. / Fonti archivistiche per la storia della malaria in italia: documenti conservati nell'archivio Golgi del Museo per la Storia dell'Universita di Pavia.

Camillo Golgi played a key role in the studies of malaria infection. Among his outstanding contributions to the topic are the description of the intraerythrocytic cycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium, responsible for the quartan and tertian fever, and the discovery of the temporal relationship between the recurrent attacks of fever and parasite's multiplication in human blood. Moreover, Golgi was also actively involved in the campaigns against malaria performed in the first ten years of this century by his pupil Adelchi Negri. Golgi's archive at the Museum for the History of the Pavia University keeps important materials on the role of this scientist in the history of malariology. Here we summarize and report some brief extracts of the documents (mainly letters from the nineteenth century biologists to Golgi) relevant to the history of human malaria.