Camillo Golgi. Portrait of Camillo Golgi (1842- 1926), the Italian histologist who researched nerves, cell structure and the malaria parasite. Golgi developed a staining agent based on silver compounds in 1873. It allowed Golgi to observe cells in unprecedented detail. He discovered that nerve cells do not touch but are separated by gaps called synapses; specialised cells (Golgi cells) used projections (dendrites) to connect many other nerve cells. Golgi found flattened structures (Golgi bodies) within cells. In the 1880s Golgi distinguished different species of Plasmodium which caused different forms of malaria. Golgi was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1906