High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Wallerian degeneration is a process that results when a nerve fiber is cut or crushed, in which the part of the axon separated from the neuron's cell nucleus degenerates. This is also known as anterograde degeneration.Wallerian degeneration occurs after axonal injury in both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central Nervous System (CNS). It occurs at the distal stump of the site of injury and usually begins within 24 hours of a lesion. Prior to degeneration distal axon stumps tend to remain electrically excitable. After injury, the axonal skeleton disintegrates and the axonal membrane breaks apart. The axonal degeneration is followed by degradation of the myelin sheath and infiltration by macrophages. The macrophages, accompanied by Schwann cells, serve to clear the debris from the degeneration.