Contributions of different neural crest cell populations to adult tissues and organs. Depending on their axial level of origin and migratory pathway followed, neural crest cells adopt different fates and contribute to distinct tissues and organs. Cranial neural crest forms a large portion of the facial skeleton as well as cranial ganglia, most of the dental tissues, and the cornea. Vagal neural crest contributes to the valves and septa of the heart, the smooth muscle of the great vessels, and the enteric nervous system. Trunk neural crest gives rise to dorsal root and sympathetic ganglia of the peripheral nervous system and the chromaffin cells of the adrenal gland. Most caudally, the neural crest formed at the sacral region contributes to a small portion of the enteric nervous system. Melanocytes of the skin and integuments are derived from neural crest at all axial levels.
