A renal corpuscle is the initial filtering component of a nephron in the kidney. It consists of a glomerulus, a small network of capillaries, enclosed in a Bowman's capsule, a sac-like structure. Fluids from blood in the glomerulus is collected in the Bowman's capsule to form "glomerulus filtrate", which is then further processed along the nephron to form urine.
A renal corpuscle is also known as a Malpighian corpuscle, named after Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), an Italian physician and biologist. This name is not used widely anymore, probably to avoid confusion with a Malpighian corpuscle in the spleen.
