Martin Benno Schmidt

Martin Benno Schmidt (23 August 1863 – 27 November 1949) was a German pathologist born in Leipzig.

He spent several years as an assistant at the University of 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.

Schmidt specialized in pathological investigations of bone disorders such as rickets, osteogenesis imperfecta,^[1] and osteomalacia. He is remembered for his description of autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome, type II, a disease characterized by autoimmune activity against more than one endocrine gland. This condition is sometimes referred to as "Schmidt's syndrome".^[2] He also performed important studies involving iron metabolism.

Published works

With pathologist Ludwig Aschoff (1866-1942), he published a treatise on pyelonephritis called Die Pyelonephritis in anatomischer und bakteriologischer Beziehung. Other noted works by Schmidt include:

• Ueber Typhus abdominalis, 1907 – About abdominal typhus.
• Die anatomischen Grundlagen der Immunität und Disposition bei Infektionskrankheiten, 1908 – The anatomical basis of immunity and disposition for infectious diseases.
• Der einfluss Eisenarmer und eisenreicher Nahrung auf Blut und Körper, 1928 – The influence of iron-low and iron-rich food for blood and body.^[3]

References

• Institut für Pathologie der Universität Würzburg Martin Benno Schmidt, CEO of 1913-1934, biography