than·a·tol·o·gy

(thăn′ə-tŏl′ə-jē)

The study of death and dying, especially in their psychological and social aspects.

[Greek thanatos, death + -logy.]

than′a·to·log′i·cal (-tl-ŏj′ĭ-kəl) adj.

than′a·tol′o·gist n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thanatology

(ˌθænəˈtɒlədʒɪ)

the scientific study of death and the phenomena and practices relating to it

[C19: from Greek thanatos death + -logy]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

than•a•tol•o•gy

(ˌθæn əˈtɒl ə dʒi)

n.

1. the study of death and its circumstances, as in forensic medicine.

2. the branches of medicine and psychiatry concerned with the terminally ill and their survivors.

[1835–45]

than`a•to•log′i•cal (-tlˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl) adj.

than`a•tol′o•gist, n.

thanatology

the study of death or the dead. Also thanatism. — thanatological, adj.

than·a·tol·o·gy

n. tanatología, rama de la medicina que trata de la muerte en todos sus aspectos.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive

Doughty begins building that vocabulary--and issues an invitation to join her--in this straightforward but humorous meander through thanatology. A more traditional Q&A book, informed by the distance and politeness of adults, might pose questions like, "What happens during an embalming?" And Doughty, the mortician, would answer.

Morbid curiosity: Mortician and death activist Caitlin Doughty takes on questions from the grimmest, most macabre members of society: children

There is even a field of study called thanatology which examines the human reaction to death and dying.

Thinking about death

Although this thanatology sounds theoretically precise and logical, it does not treat the issue of human finitude in all its psychological and social complexity.

Clytemnestra Returns: A Philosophical Inquiry into her Moral Identity in Colm Toibin's House of Names

* Amy Florian of Hoffman Estates, CEO of Corgenius and a fellow in thanatology, the scientific study of death.

Meet our advisory Sounding Board

From horology (study of watches) to teuthology (squids) and thanatology (death) to volcanology (volcanoes), host Alie Ward (humorist and science correspondent) spends an hour every episode dissecting these specific studies and what we can learn from each.

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Music also has a role to play in palliative care --in music thanatology harp music helps bring peace to patients and others present and singers also have a soothing effect (Fyfe, 2006; Rule, 2006; Chatterjee, 2009; Cardozo, 2017a; Cardozo, 2017b).

Music learning for fun and wellbeing at any age!

6 Medical profession should respect the theology veiled in thanatology and should be careful not to become instrumental in creating a culture of death; alleviating suffering is not by eliminating the patient.

Physicians Involved Assisted Suicide

Ramsay's, who, like every subject in Egyptian thanatology, perishes alone and stands alone before the judges, accountable only for his own words and actions.

Virginia Woolf's Egyptomania: Echoes of The Book of the Dead in To The Lighthouse

Carrie Arnold is an adjunct faculty in the thanatology program at King's University College, Western University.

Cultural Humility and Mental Health Care in Canadian Muslim Communities/L'humilite culturelle et les soins de sante mentale dans les communautes musulmanes canadiennes

Studies in Interdisciplinary Thanatology; Volume 14

Dealing with Death: A Search for Cross-Cultural and Time-Transcending Similarities