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The hexose monophosphate shunt, also known as the pentose phosphate pathway, is a unique pathway used to create products essential in the body for many reasons. The HMP shunt is an alternative pathway to glycolysis and is used to produce ribose-5-phosphate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). This pathway occurs in the oxidative and non-oxidative phases, each comprising a series of reactions. The HMP shunt also has significance in the medical world, as enzyme or co-factor deficiencies can have potentially fatal implications on the affected patients.