head ectomesenchyme FMA:318119 UBERON:0004031 Wikipedia:Ectomesenchyme ectomesenchyme Mesenchymal cells derived from neural crest cells that contribute to development of the hard and soft tissue in the head and neck, including the branchial arches[MP]. Ectomesenchyme has similar properties to mesenchyme. The major difference is that ectomesenchyme is usually considered to arise from neural crest cells, which are a critical group of cells that form in the cranial region during early vertebrate development. Thus, ectomesenchyme plays a critical role in the formation of the hard and soft tissues of the head and neck such as bones, muscles, teeth, and, most important, the branchial arches[Wikipedia:Ectomesenchyme]. Portion of tissue that develops from the cranial neural crest and which cells populate a series of pharyngeal arches from which develops the support skeleton of the jaw and gills[ZFA:0005771]. consider merging with UBERON:0007213 mesenchyme derived from head neural crest mesenchyme derived from head neural crest