Anabolic steroids are the quickest known way for male athletes to improve their bodies and excel in sports, but not necessarily the safest. The Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol defines anabolic steroids as "the synthetic versions of the naturally occurring male sex hormone testosterone; they are properly called anabolic-androgen steroids because they have both body building (anabolic) and masculinizing (androgenic) effects." Anabolic steroids have been around for many years, dating back to the 1930's, where …showed first 75 words of 996 total…

…showed last 75 words of 996 total…When steroids are taken by intramuscular injection, they tend to less toxic on the liver because they have an altered chemical composition that allows them to stay intact through the digestive process and liver metabolism (ROID). One of the major concerns regarding intramuscular injection is the risk of getting AIDS from a contaminated needle. The National Institute of Drug Abuse has concluded that 63% of teenage steroid users take steroids orally rather than by intramuscular injection.