Word Origin & History
thanatology1842, "scientific study of death," from Gk. thanatos "death" (from PIE *dhwene- "to disappear, die," perhaps from root meaning "dark, cloudy") + -logia "treating of." Thanatism (1900) is the belief that at death the soul ceases to exist. Hence also Thanatos (1935), the "death instinct" in Freudian psychology.
In 1970s, some undertakers made a bid to be called thanatologists.