Galvanized corpse, illustration, 1836. In biology, galvanism is the contraction of a muscle that is stimulated by an electric current. The effect was named after the 18th century scientist Luigi Galvani after his experiments on 'animal electricity'. Galvanism also describes the bringing to life of organisms using electricity, as seen in this cartoon showing a man rising from his coffin, revived by a primitive galvanic battery, as two demons look on. The modern study of galvanic effects in biology is called electrophysiology.