Chopin was buried in Paris in 1849, but his heart, according to the will of the musician, moved to his native Poland, and immured in the tower of the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw as a holy relic. One of the reasons for Chopin's desire was the fear of being buried alive, in connection with which he demanded an autopsy of his own body before the funeral.

In Warsaw, the heart of the musician was uninhabited, until in 2014 a group of scientists received permission to briefly examine the organ. The purpose of such an examination was to determine the cause of death of the famous composer, who died at 39, writes Live Science.

The group, which included priests and forensic experts, opened the crypt on an April night and saw a heart submerged in an amber-brown liquid - probably a cognac used to preserve tissues in the 19th century. Experts made hundreds of photos to visually analyze the body.

And finally, scientists from the Institute of Human Genetics at the Polish Academy of Sciences announced the results of their research, concluding that Chopin had long suffered from tuberculosis. At the same time, the immediate cause of death of the composer was the inflammation of the membrane around the heart.

"This is a rare combination, but one of the most dangerous complications for tuberculosis patients," experts said..

Source: My planet.