When the axon is transected, Wallerian degeneration, in which the part of the axon distal to the break degrades, takes place within one to two days after injury.[26] The axolemma disintegrates,[26] myelin breaks down and begins to detach from cells in an anterograde direction (from the body of the cell toward the end of the axon),[27] and nearby cells begin phagocytic activity, engulfing debris.[28]