Anabolic steroids have several legitimate medical uses.
Testicular cancer often requires the removal of the testes in men. After surgery, these men are prescribed oral anabolic steroids to replace the testosterone that their bodies are no longer able to make. Adolescent males with pituitary malfunction are treated with injectable anabolic steroids when they reach the appropriate age for puberty. After certain kinds of surgery and cancer, the patient experiences loss of muscle tissue. This is not an officially approved medical use for anabolic steroids in the United States.