Martin Benno Schmidt was a German pathologist who was born in Leipzig

Leipzig

Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

. He spent several years as an assistant in Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

, where he worked under Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen

Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen

Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen was a German pathologist who practiced medicine in Würzburg and Strassburg . Born in Gütersloh, Westphalia, he was the father of physiologist Heinrich von Recklinghausen ....

 (1833-1910). In 1906 he became a professor of pathology at the medical academy in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

, and afterwards worked as a pathologist in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

 and Marburg

Marburg

Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...

. In 1913 he succeeded Richard Kretz

Richard Kretz

Richard Kretz was an Austrian pathologist born in Bruck an der Mur, Styria. He is remembered for pathological research involving regenerative and degenerative processes that take place in liver cirrhosis....

 (1865-1920) as professor of pathology at the University of Würzburg

University of Würzburg

The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group.-Name:...

, a position he maintained until his retirement in 1934.

Martin Schmidt specialized in pathological investigations of bone disorders such as rickets

Rickets

Rickets is a softening of bones in children due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D, magnesium , phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries...

, osteogenesis imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a genetic bone disorder. People with OI are born with defective connective tissue, or without the ability to make it, usually because of a deficiency of Type-I collagen...

 and osteomalacia

Osteomalacia

Osteomalacia is the softening of the bones caused by defective bone mineralization secondary to inadequate amounts of available phosphorus and calcium, or because of overactive resorption of calcium from the bone as a result of hyperparathyroidism...

. He is remembered for his description of autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome, type II

Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome

In medicine, autoimmune polyendocrine syndromes are a heterogeneous group of rare diseases characterised by autoimmune activity against more than one endocrine organs, although non-endocrine organs can be affected....

, 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

Metastasis

Metastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...

 of tumor

Tumor

A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

s, and with pathologist Ludwig Aschoff

Ludwig Aschoff

Karl Albert Ludwig Aschoff was a German physician and pathologist. He is considered to be one of the most influential pathologists of the early 20th century and is regarded as the most important German pathologist after Rudolf Virchow.Aschoff was born in Berlin, Prussia...

 (1866-1942), he published a treatise on pyelonephritis

Pyelonephritis

Pyelonephritis is an ascending urinary tract infection that has reached the pyelum or pelvis of the kidney. It is a form of nephritis that is also referred to as pyelitis...

called Die Pyelonephritis in anatomischer und bakteriologischer Beziehung.