What is Marcello Malpighi?
[[Image:MarcelloMalphigiMiall.jpg|thumb|Marcello Malpighi]] [[Image:Malpighi - Opere, 1687 - 3053086.tif|thumb|''Opera omnia'', 1687]] '''Marcello Malpighi''' (10 March 1628 – 29 November 1694) was an [[Italy|Italian]] doctor, who gave his name to several [[physiology|physiological]] features, like the [[Malpighian tubule system]].<ref>This is a type of [[excretion|excretory]] and [[osmosis|osmoregulatory]] system found in many [[arthropods]].</ref> Although the [[microscope]] was invented early in the 17th century, it was not much used until [[Robert Hooke]] improved the instrument. Then Marcello Malpighi, Hooke, [[Nehemiah Grew]] and [[Antonie van Leeuwenhoek]] had a virtually untried tool in their hands as they began their investigations.<ref name=Bolam>Bolam, Jeanne. 1973. The botanical works of Nehemiah Grew F.R.S. (1641-1712). Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, '''27'''. 219-231.</ref> Working on [[frogs]] and extrapolating to humans, Malpighi demonstrated the structure of the [[lungs]], previously thought to be a homogeneous mass of flesh, and he offered an explanation for how air and blood mixed in the lungs.<ref name=Bolam/> Malpighi also used the microscope for his studies of the [[skin]], [[kidneys]], and [[liver]]. For example, after he dissected the body of a black man, Malpighi made some groundbreaking headway into the origin of black skin. He found that the black pigment was associated with a layer of mucus just beneath the skin. He was the first to see [[capillaries]] in animals, and he discovered the link between [[arteries]] and [[vein]]s. He may have been the first person to see this under a microscope. The microscope let Malpighi discover that the [[silk worm]] does not use lungs to breathe, but small holes in their skin called [[spiracles]]. This turned out to be true of all insects. Because Malpighi had a wide knowledge of both plants and animals, and he made contributions to the study of both. The [[Royal Society]] in London published two volumes of his botanical and