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A number of you have PM'ed me about the subject the is the closest explanation I can give you. I hope this helps. 
Androgens, steroids, anabolic steroids, anabolic-androgenic steroids-do these terms all refer to the same compounds? Are scientists just out to confound and confuse everyone by using different words to describe the same thing?
If you think you know, try this one: is methandrostenolone(i.e., dbol) an anabolic steroid only? An androgen? A steroid? Or is it an anabolic-androgenic steroid?
The correct answer is all of the above.
If you're still confused, read on- you'll learn what scientists are referring to when we use those terms in discussions of bodybuilding drugs.
WHAT IS A STEROID?
Did you know that all steroid hormones are derived from cholesterol? Yeah, big bad cholesterol, contributor to cardiovascular disease, the number-one cause of death in the United States. But we all need cholesterol to live, and we need it for steroid synthesis as well.
If you were to look at the molecular structure of cholesterol and all of the hormones derived from it, you would see how structurally similar all steroids are. In fact, if you looked at the structure of testosterone( a male sex hormone) and estradiol(a female sex hormone), you'd amazed by their similarity. Without getting too deep into the biochemistry, all it takes is one chemical step via an aromatase enzyme to convert muscle building testosterone into fat depositing estradiol.
Not all steroids are created equal. In fact, the word steroid encompasses hormones that are so different that sorting them out can drive you crazy. For example, birth-control pills for women are steroid hormones, but you aren't going to get muscular by taking them. Another type of steroid, cortisone, will cause you to lose muscle.
Androgens are a group of steroid hormones that include testosterone(the most important one), dihydrotestosterone and others. Synthetically derived anabolic hormones such methandrostenolone(dbol) are often referred to as anabolic steroids, but they are still androgens. Using the terms anabolic steroids or anabolic-androgenic steroids seems redundant because all androgens have anabolic(i.e., muscle-building) and androgenic(i.e., promoting male gender traits) properties, although some promote certain effects more than others.
You should know by now that the word steroid does not differentiate between the female sex steroids, collectively called estrogens, and the male sex steroids, collectively called androgens. Although the word steroid, especially when used in bodybuilding magazines, has connotations specific to androgens, the term is often misused by the lay press, which uses steroid reference to androgens when in fact they should be referring to different types of steroids(e.g., glucocorticoids, corticosteroids,, estrogens) that are used for medical purposes.
Androgens
If you look up the word androgen in any medical dictionary, you'll see that it is typically defined as "a substance that produces or stimulates the development of male characteristics." Testosterone is the most important androgen and its effects have been categorized as either anabolic or androgenic. Anabolic refers to the stimulation of skeletal muscle mass growth in humans; androgenic refers to "musculinization"(e.g., deepening of the voice, growth of facial and body hair, sex-organ development). The effects can be much more pronounced when women use these hormones because they have less circulating androgen than men.
Muscle obviously responds to androgens. Some scientists believe that differences in muscle mass between sexes relate to levels of the androgen receptor. Men have higher amounts and should therefore be sensitized to circulating androgens. For example, it has been postulated that shoulder(delts, traps) and pecs exhibit higher androgen receptor levels in males than in females. This might explain the difference in upper-body size between the sexes.
Way back when, someone had a brilliant idea: let's separate the anabolic effects from the androgenic ones- who needs extra hair on his back and knuckles anyway? And make these steroids purely anabolic(hence, the term anabolic steroids). Well, it was a nice idea, but it hasn't been shown that you can completely separate these two substances. In reality, all androgens have both anabolic and androgenic effects. In fact, all of these androgens interact with the same receptor sites in skeletal muscle.
What about the term anabolic steroid? Estrogens are anabolic(with regard to fat), so would that make them anabolic steroids.? Again, the term anabolic steroid was given to synthetic derivatives of testosterone(nandrolone decanoate, dbol, oxymetholone, etc.) Whose effects are supposedly more anabolic and less androgenic than testosterone itself. Either way, all anabolic steroids are androgens, and all anabolic steroids have both anabolic and androgenic effects.
You may have read somewhere that deca is not an androgen, but rather an anabolic steroid. Sorry but it's incorrect. Whether you take anavar, deca, winny, or anadrol, or the other hundred or so steroids derived from test- they are all androgens.
ANABOLIC VS. ANDROGENIC PROPERTIES
As stated before, it's impossible to completely separate the androgenic and anabolic effects of androgens. Scientists judge the anabolic effects of an androgen against its androgenic properties by treating a lab animal with an androgen and then comparing the growth response of its prostate to that of its levator ani muscle. For example, when you compare straight test to the nandrolones, the nandrolones have 80% less efect on the prostate but 240% greater anabolic effect on skeletal muscle. So yes, androgens differ in their anabolic and androgenic properties, but suffice it to say that they all have at least some of both.:2gunsfiri
Androgens, steroids, anabolic steroids, anabolic-androgenic steroids-do these terms all refer to the same compounds? Are scientists just out to confound and confuse everyone by using different words to describe the same thing?
If you think you know, try this one: is methandrostenolone(i.e., dbol) an anabolic steroid only? An androgen? A steroid? Or is it an anabolic-androgenic steroid?
The correct answer is all of the above.
If you're still confused, read on- you'll learn what scientists are referring to when we use those terms in discussions of bodybuilding drugs.
WHAT IS A STEROID?
Did you know that all steroid hormones are derived from cholesterol? Yeah, big bad cholesterol, contributor to cardiovascular disease, the number-one cause of death in the United States. But we all need cholesterol to live, and we need it for steroid synthesis as well.
If you were to look at the molecular structure of cholesterol and all of the hormones derived from it, you would see how structurally similar all steroids are. In fact, if you looked at the structure of testosterone( a male sex hormone) and estradiol(a female sex hormone), you'd amazed by their similarity. Without getting too deep into the biochemistry, all it takes is one chemical step via an aromatase enzyme to convert muscle building testosterone into fat depositing estradiol.
Not all steroids are created equal. In fact, the word steroid encompasses hormones that are so different that sorting them out can drive you crazy. For example, birth-control pills for women are steroid hormones, but you aren't going to get muscular by taking them. Another type of steroid, cortisone, will cause you to lose muscle.
Androgens are a group of steroid hormones that include testosterone(the most important one), dihydrotestosterone and others. Synthetically derived anabolic hormones such methandrostenolone(dbol) are often referred to as anabolic steroids, but they are still androgens. Using the terms anabolic steroids or anabolic-androgenic steroids seems redundant because all androgens have anabolic(i.e., muscle-building) and androgenic(i.e., promoting male gender traits) properties, although some promote certain effects more than others.
You should know by now that the word steroid does not differentiate between the female sex steroids, collectively called estrogens, and the male sex steroids, collectively called androgens. Although the word steroid, especially when used in bodybuilding magazines, has connotations specific to androgens, the term is often misused by the lay press, which uses steroid reference to androgens when in fact they should be referring to different types of steroids(e.g., glucocorticoids, corticosteroids,, estrogens) that are used for medical purposes.
Androgens
If you look up the word androgen in any medical dictionary, you'll see that it is typically defined as "a substance that produces or stimulates the development of male characteristics." Testosterone is the most important androgen and its effects have been categorized as either anabolic or androgenic. Anabolic refers to the stimulation of skeletal muscle mass growth in humans; androgenic refers to "musculinization"(e.g., deepening of the voice, growth of facial and body hair, sex-organ development). The effects can be much more pronounced when women use these hormones because they have less circulating androgen than men.
Muscle obviously responds to androgens. Some scientists believe that differences in muscle mass between sexes relate to levels of the androgen receptor. Men have higher amounts and should therefore be sensitized to circulating androgens. For example, it has been postulated that shoulder(delts, traps) and pecs exhibit higher androgen receptor levels in males than in females. This might explain the difference in upper-body size between the sexes.
Way back when, someone had a brilliant idea: let's separate the anabolic effects from the androgenic ones- who needs extra hair on his back and knuckles anyway? And make these steroids purely anabolic(hence, the term anabolic steroids). Well, it was a nice idea, but it hasn't been shown that you can completely separate these two substances. In reality, all androgens have both anabolic and androgenic effects. In fact, all of these androgens interact with the same receptor sites in skeletal muscle.
What about the term anabolic steroid? Estrogens are anabolic(with regard to fat), so would that make them anabolic steroids.? Again, the term anabolic steroid was given to synthetic derivatives of testosterone(nandrolone decanoate, dbol, oxymetholone, etc.) Whose effects are supposedly more anabolic and less androgenic than testosterone itself. Either way, all anabolic steroids are androgens, and all anabolic steroids have both anabolic and androgenic effects.
You may have read somewhere that deca is not an androgen, but rather an anabolic steroid. Sorry but it's incorrect. Whether you take anavar, deca, winny, or anadrol, or the other hundred or so steroids derived from test- they are all androgens.
ANABOLIC VS. ANDROGENIC PROPERTIES
As stated before, it's impossible to completely separate the androgenic and anabolic effects of androgens. Scientists judge the anabolic effects of an androgen against its androgenic properties by treating a lab animal with an androgen and then comparing the growth response of its prostate to that of its levator ani muscle. For example, when you compare straight test to the nandrolones, the nandrolones have 80% less efect on the prostate but 240% greater anabolic effect on skeletal muscle. So yes, androgens differ in their anabolic and androgenic properties, but suffice it to say that they all have at least some of both.:2gunsfiri
Flattery will get you everywhere T.
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