So we have three different names for the single process that takes place entirely in the matrix of the mitochondria of our cell. Now, before this process can actually begin, we have to break down glucose molecules into pyruvate molecules in the process we call glycolysis, and that takes place in the cytoplasm of the cell. So once we form the pyruvate molecules, if we have plenty of oxygen present in the cell, then the pyruvate molecules will move into the matrix of the mitochondria via special type of protein found in the membrane of the mitochondria known as pyruvate translocase. And once the pyruvate moves into the matrix of the mitochondria, before it begins the citric acid cycle, we have to transform that pyruvate into acetyl coenzyme a. So, ultimately, a two carbon component from the pyruvate is transferred onto a carrier molecule known as coenzyme a, or simply COA. And so once we form the CETL coenzyme A molecule in the pyruvate decorboxylation process, only then can the citric acid cycle actually begin.