The Discovery of the Golgi Complex

In this chapter, the discovery of the Golgi apparatus or Golgi complex by Camillo Golgi is addressed. The slow acceptance that this unique structure indeed represents a new organelle is detailed; only once newer technologies could be implemented to supplement the older metallic impregnation methods initially used did scientists begin to accept the existence of the Golgi complex. As technologies and methodologies continued to evolve and improve, researchers began to understand the key roles of the Golgi complex in both secretion from the cell and the transport of proteins within the cell (biosynthetic transport), and the experimental history of these discoveries is briefly addressed. Finally, the impact of the Golgi complex on several diseases, including Perlizaeus–Merzbacher disease, Cutis laxa, congenital disorders of glycosylation, Parkinson’s disease, and X-linked mental retardation associated with autism, are discussed.