Promoting anabolism. Specifically, an agent or function that stimulates the organization of smaller substances into larger ones. Examples: making a starch out of sugars, a protein out of amino acids, or making triglycerides out of fatty acids are anabolic functions. Anabolic steroids are internal or external substances that will induce increased body size or mass. The opposite of CATABOLIC.
adj. promoting tissue growth by increasing the metabolic processes involved in protein synthesis. Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of male sex hormones (see androgen); they include *nandrolone. They were formerly used to help weight gain in underweight patients, such as the elderly and those with serious illnesses, but are now used mainly to stimulate the production of blood cells by the bone marrow in some forms of aplastic anaemia. Some anabolic steroids cause virilization in women and liver damage.
Drugs that have an anabolic (protein-building) effect similar to testosterone. Anabolic steroids build tissue, promote muscle recovery after an injury, and strengthen bones. They are used to treat to sounds in the body, particularly those made by the heart or lungs.... steroids, anabolic
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