[Primary hyperparathyroidism. History]

The term primary hyperparathyroidism currently refers to the clinical and biological manifestations resulting from the hypersecretion of parathyroid hormone by one or several parathyroid adenomas. This entity is a recent one since it goes back to 1925. The clinical picture resulting from this anomaly, were first described as Recklinghausen's fibrous osteitis, which was not justified since Recklinghausen had not established the relationship between the clinical manifestations and the adenoma discovered by Mandl, then under the name of parathyroid osteosis. This term was justified at a time when the disease presented only bony manifestations with biological evidence. Primary hyperthyroidism is the current appellation, demonstrating that the disease is now a biological disease, often discovered systematically, with therapeutic progress, progress in biological identification and possibility of medical forms without mandatory surgical outcome. Bibliographic references accompany the various stages of this historical reminder.