Anabolic Steroids are defined as being synthetic derivatives of testosterone. Testosterone was often referred to as the "male" hormone, because testosterone in Steroid is responsible for developing some of the male characteristics such as lowering of the voice and hair growth, and because the male body produces much more of it than the female. Steroid is produced mainly in the testis, a small amount being produced in the adrenal. It is synthesized from cholesterol. The regulation of its production may be simplified thus: the hypothalamus (part of the brain) produces gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) which acts on the anterior pituitary to increase the production of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). LH acts on the Leydig cells in the testis, causing them to produce testosterone. FSH, together with testosterone act on the Sertoli cells in the testis to regulate the production and maturation of spermatozoa. Testosterone in turn acts on the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary to suppress the production of GnRH, FSHand LH, producing a negative-feedback mechanism which keeps everything well-regulated. The small amount produced in the adrenal (in both sexes) is regulated by secretion of adrenal corticotrophin hormone (ACTH), also secreted by the pituitary.

Testosterone, and its metabolites such as dihydrotestosterone, act in many parts of the body, producing the secondary sexual characteristics often male: balding, facial and body hair, deep voice, greater muscle bulk, thicker skin, and genital maturity. At puberty it produces acne, the growth spurt and the enlargement of the penis and testes as well as causing the fusion of the epiphyses (through its conversion to estrogens), bringing growth in height to an end. It plays some role in maintaining the sexual organs in the adult, but only a low concentration is required for this.

This information precedes any explanation of anabolic Steroids. Synthetic means artificial or man made. This infers that man has created a complex substance from a simpler substance by chemical reactions or synthesis. Most anabolic Steroids are made from Mexican Sarsaparilla root. This natural plant is chemically altered and synthesized to form the active anabolic Steroid ingredients. This is not to infer that the Mexican Sarsaparilla root is an Steroid substance on its own. It is virtually inert when ingested before this synthesis has been applied. It would be almost like assuming that since wine is made of grapes, one could be intoxicated by ingesting grapes. Testosterone is the primary sex hormone found in men. It is produced primarily by the testes and controls a great number of metabolic functions. It is an androgen which stimulates growth in tissues in which it acts, one of them being muscle. Testosterone has anabolic and androgenic effects. The anabolic effects are isolated to be the ones which affect muscle tissue directly. The androgenic effects are primarily responsible for secondary sexual characteristics in men: facial hair, deepening of the voice, sex organ development and erection, as well as aggression. The term anabolic instead of androgenic steroid implies that some effort has been made to alter the testosterone molecular structure so that the drug exerts more of an anabolic effect than an androgenic effect. If we want a simplified interpretation of the original definition "anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone." we might do so by saying this: "anabolic steroids are man made copies of a male hormone. The hormone which makes boys men, and which makes muscle tissue grow."