Trauma University – Part 5: Agony

    In chapter two of The Organ Takers, paramedics Tom Burnett and Freddie Ramirez find an unconscious homeless man facedown on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk at 4:00 am. When they roll him onto his back, Freddie says, “He’s breathing, but his respirations are agonal.” What does that mean: his respirations are agonal?   From the context of the […]