Martin Benno Schmidt

Martin Benno Schmidt (1863-1949) was a German pathologist who was born in Leipzig. He spent several years as an assistant in Strasbourg, where he worked under Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen (1833-1910). In 1906 he became a professor of pathology at the medical academy in Düsseldorf, and afterwards worked as a pathologist in Zurich and Marburg. In 1913 he succeeded Richard Kretz (1865-1920) as professor of pathology at the University of Würzburg, a position he maintained until his retirement in 1934.

Martin Schmidt specialized in pathological investigations of bone disorders such as rickets, osteogenesis imperfecta and osteomalacia. He is remembered for his description of autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome, type II, which is a disease characterized by autoimmune activity against more than one endocrine gland. This condition is sometimes referred to as "Schmidt's syndrome" or "polyglandular autoimmune syndrome, type II".

Schmidt also performed important studies regarding the metastasis of tumors, and with pathologist Ludwig Aschoff (1866-1942), he published a treatise on pyelonephritis called Die Pyelonephritis in anatomischer und bakteriologischer Beziehung.

References

• The History of Pathology in Würzburg (German)
• Dorlands Medical Dictionary (definition of eponym)
• University Hospital of Zurich (biography of Martin Benno Schmidt); (German)

Persondata
Name	Schmidt, Martin Benno
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Date of birth	1863
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Date of death	1949
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