The life and death of Captain Charles Martell and kidney stone disease.

Hyperparathyroidism was unknown in this country until the diagnosis was first made by Eugene F. DuBois in 1926. The patient was Captain Charles Martell, a mariner who had become disabled by demineralization of the skeleton during many years. Finally, a parathyroid adenoma was removed at the seventh operation in 1932. Urinary calculi were a major part of the long illness and their complications caused death. Charles Martell contributed significantly to our knowledge of calcium metabolism in general and kidney stone disease in particular.