Illustration A shows all the vertebrae in a vertebral column. Illustration B shows that different sections of vertebrae curve in different directions. The cervical vertebrae in the neck curve toward the front of the body. The thoracic vertebrae, which extend from the neck to the bottom of the rib cage, curve toward the back of the body. The lumbar vertebrae, which extend to the bottom of the back, curve toward the front again. The sacrum and the coccygeal vertebrae make up the sacral curve that curves toward the back.
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