Anaerobic Respiration

Anaerobic respiration does not involve oxygen. It happens when you do vigorous exercise and your body can’t supply enough oxygen to your muscles. Anaerobic respiration is the complete breakdown of glucose into lactic acid:

Glucose   →  lactic acid + energy (ATP)

 Anaerobic = without oxygen

Anaerobic respiration is not as efficient as aerobic respiration at converting glucose to energy needed for cells but is a much quicker way to convert glucose. 

To remember that anaerobic respiration means without oxygen use the following mnemonic:

The anaconda wrapped itself in rows. It would be a quick (anaerobic) death for the ox without oxygen.

Note: At a later date the lactic acid is removed and changed back into glucose but it requires a lot of oxygen.