¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Medical Definition of Malpighian tubules
1. One of the tubular or hairlike excretory organs arising from the midgut-hindgut junction of many arthropods. Two to several hundred such tubules may be present. They collect waste from the body fluids and discharge them into the hindgut. Malpighian refers to the italian anatomist marcello malpighi, 1628-1694. (12 Dec 1998)