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The tertiary structure of a protein describes the three-dimensional arrangement of its amino acid residues in space, resulting from various interactions between side chains, such as hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, hydrophobic interactions, and covalent disulfide bonds. This differs from the secondary structure, which focuses on the local spatial arrangement of the polypeptide chain backbone, primarily maintained by hydrogen bonds between peptide bond components. The secondary structure consists of patterns like alpha-helices and beta-sheets, while the tertiary structure represents a more complex and higher level of organization, ultimately determining the protein's function within a cell.