Angelo Ruffini (Pretare of Arquata del Tronto; 1864–1929) was an Italian histologist and embryologist. He studied medicine at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

, where beginning in 1894 he taught classes in

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...

. In 1903 he attained the chair of

embryology Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...

at the University of Siena. He was the first to describe small encapsulated nerve endings (

mechanoreceptor A mechanoreceptor, also called mechanoceptor, is a sensory receptor that responds to mechanical pressure or distortion. Mechanoreceptors are located on sensory neurons that convert mechanical pressure into action potential, electrical signals tha ...

s) which were to become known as Ruffini corpuscles. He used a gold chloride stain on his

microscope slide A microscope slide is a thin flat piece of glass, typically 75 by 26 mm (3 by 1 inches) and about 1 mm thick, used to hold objects for examination under a microscope. Typically the object is mounted (secured) on the slide, and then ...

s in order to view the tiny corpuscles. Ruffini was a pioneer in the study of

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

gastrulation Gastrulation is the stage in the early embryonic development of most animals, during which the blastula (a single-layered hollow sphere of cells), or in mammals, the blastocyst, is reorganized into a two-layered or three-layered embryo known as ...

, providing a comprehensive and detailed description on the formation of "bottle cells". He published these findings in a book titled ''Fisiogenia'' (1925).

Relationship with Sir Charles Sherrington

Between 1896 and 1903, Ruffini corresponded regularly with Sir Charles Sherrington. This relationship evolved after Ruffini sent copies of his papers on muscle nerve endings to Sherrington. Ruffini also sent Sherrington eleven slides of 'Organi nervosi'
available online
and Sherrington was instrumental in getting Ruffini's work published in the Journal of Physiology.Molnár Z, Brown RE., 2010. Insights into the life and work of Sir Charles Sherrington. Nat Rev Neurosci. 11(6):429-36

References

(translated biography) * ttp://www.ijdb.ehu.es/ft771.pdfAmphibian gastrulation: history and evolution of a 125-year-old concept {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffini, Angelo 1864 births 1929 deaths Italian anatomists Embryologists University of Bologna alumni Academic staff of the University of Siena