Anabolic steroids are laboratory made versions of the male sex hormone, testosterone.
When naturally secreted from the pituitary gland, testosterone provides such secondary sex characteristics as a lowered voice and increased body and facial hair. Anabolic agents were developed in the early 1950s in a search for a testosterone-like drug that would trigger general body growth without the strong masculinizing effects of the male hormone. They are prescribed medically to treat anemia, breast cancer, osteoporosis and some cases of dwarfism and delayed puberty. Use of steroids should be medically supervised. Recent investigations also point to a powerful psychological action of steroids.