neural crest

American  

noun

Embryology.

1. a group of ectodermal cells that develop into a variety of tissues, including spinal and autonomic ganglia, connective tissue around the brain and spinal cord, and parts of the facial bones.

---

Etymology

Origin of neural crest

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Physical cues in the womb, and not just genetics, influence the normal development of neural crest cells, the embryonic stem cells that form facial features, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

From Science Daily • Apr. 22, 2024

Biologists proposed that a pool of cells called the neural crest, which pops up in animal embryos and turns into tissues like skin and ear cartilage, might explain why different species grow similar traits.

From Washington Post • Apr. 27, 2017

That’s because coloration in the eyes doesn’t need to migrate from the neural crest.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2016

Cells from the neural folds then separate from the ectoderm to form a cluster of cells referred to as the neural crest, which runs lateral to the neural tube.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

People with Waardenburg syndrome have symptoms scattered across the parts of the body produced by neural crest cells.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2010