the initial secretions of the mesenchymal cells is procollagen.the conversion of procollagen into tropocollagen and the subsequent consolidation into collagen occurs in the same manner as that descnbed earlier.the collagen fibers in hyaline cartilage are thinner and less evident than in many other tissues.in a mass of articular cartilage of collagen fiber are arrangea in an arcade fashion with one or both ends of the fiber firmly embedded in the deepest portion of the cartilage or even in the subchondrial bone.the loop of this collagenous arcade runs parallel to the joint surface.