The term for the breakdown of glucose during cellular respiration is known as glycolysis. This is the first step in the metabolic pathway, which occurs in the cytoplasm of cells and does not require oxygen (anaerobic). During glycolysis, glucose is converted into pyruvate, yielding energy in the form of ATP and NADH. Following glycolysis, if oxygen is present, the pyruvate undergoes further processing in the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain, leading to the complete oxidation of glucose.