any structural anomaly of the neural crest cells (NCCs) originating in the anterior part of the developing embryo and residing between the mid-diencephalon and the forming hindbrain; cranial NCCs migrate dorsolaterally to form the craniofacial mesenchyme that differentiates into various craniofacial cartilages and bones, cranial neurons, glia, and connective tissues of the face; these cells enter the pharyngeal pouches and arches where they give rise to thymic cells, bones of the middle ear and jaw (mandible), and the odontoblasts of the tooth primordia; like their counterparts in the trunk, cranial NCCs also contribute to the developing peripheral nervous system, along with the pigmented cell (i.e. melanocyte) lineage
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