Camillo Golgi

Golgi apparatus

Camillo Golgi discovered the Golgi apparatus in 1898 using osmium dichromate staining on barn owl Purkinje cells. He named it 'apparato reticolare interno' and asserted it was a real, unique cellular component. Initial scepticism held that it was an optical illusion. The finding was not firmly established until electron microscopy emerged ~50 years later. It revealed a new intracellular structure but gave no insight into its function, mechanism, or universality.