text: Glycals can be formed as pyranose (six-membered) or furanose (five-membered) rings, depending on the monosaccharide used as a starting material to synthesize the glycal. Glycals can also be classified as endo-glycals or exo-glycals. A glycal is an endo-glycal when the double bond is within the ring. If the hydroxyl group on carbon 1 has been replaced with another carbon atom, a double bond can also form outside the ring between carbon 1 and this new carbon. In this case, the product is called an exo-glycal.  The glycal conformation that has been studied in most depth is that of the pyranose endo-glycal. The favoured conformation of this glycal is the half-chair, a result which has been confirmed by quantum mechanical calculations.