Here are fragments of Jose Rizal’s brain

Jose Rizal's brain?

On social media, Ambeth Ocampo has shared a photo of the fragments of Rizal’s brain.

Rizal’s eldest sister Saturnina kept it safe in a small bottle.

In the caption, the historian wrote more about our national hero’s remains.

“Most of Rizal’s mortal remains are buried under the monument in Luneta. Except a bit of his backbone preserved in Fort Santiago. The chipped bone is believed to be the spot where the bullet hit him on December [30, 1896],” Ocampo said.

“I did not know till recently that Rizal’s eldest sister Saturnina kept fragments of the hero’s brain in a bottle. I presume the fragments were formerly preserved in alcohol that has since dried up," he added.

Ocampo said he is still researching the story and context of this relic.

In his caption, he also thanked Britz Hamoy for the lead, and Dr. Francis Navarro, Director of the Ateneo de Manila University Archives for showing the relic to him.

Ocampo’s post is proving to be a top hit with 52,000 reactions, 8,800 shares, and 1,000 comments.

In 2022, Ocampo learned that Jose Rizal’s height is actually almost 5’3 instead of the long-believed 4’11. It was written in one of Rizal’s notebooks, and Ocampo found it while filing his scans of manuscripts.

Ocampo shared more lessons about Rizal in an episode of “The Howie Severino Podcast.”

— Nika Roque/LA, GMA Integrated News