What an anabolic androgenic steroid is can be best understood taking the words separately. Anabolic or anabolism refers to that metabolic process in living organisms and cells – such as inside our body – that helps in synthesizing or bringing together smaller molecules to build larger ones. As against catabolism, that does the opposite, anabolism tends to coalesce complex molecules, letting them grow as a whole.
Androgenic stands for that property of a natural or synthetic chemical compound in vertebrates (for example, human beings) that stimulates or controls development and maintenance of masculine characteristics. More commonly, androgen is indicative of developing male sexuality, though testosterone, a well-known androgen, secretes in both the testes of males and the ovaries of females.
Steroid, occurring as it does from sterol like cholesterol, a naturally happening steroid alcohol, is a group of organic compounds including many types of hormones, alkaloids and vitamins.
What follows therefore is that anabolic androgenic steroid is a type of naturally occurring or manmade substance that assists in growth of cells...