malpighian corpuscle [Marcello Malpighi; L, corpusculum, little body] , one of a number of small, round, deep-red bodies in the cortex of the kidney, each communicating with a renal tubule. Malpighian corpuscles average about 0.2 mm in diameter, with each capsule composed of two parts: a central glomerulus and a glomerular capsule. The corpuscles are part of a filtering system through which nonprotein components of blood plasma enter the tubules for urinary excretion. Also called malpighian body, renal corpuscle.
