Steroids

Steroids are a group of organic compounds that resemble fats. Hundreds of different steroids have been isolated from plants and animals, including human steroids, such as cholesterol, bile salts, and the hormones estrogen and testosterone.

Studies of steroids began in the early 1800s with the discovery of cholesterol in human gallstones. The structure of cholesterol and other steroid molecules was determined in the 1910s and 1920s by Adolf Windaus [German: 1876-1959] and Heinrich Wieland [German: 1877-1957]. By 1932, it was clear that steroids share a common structure consisting of four rings of carbon atoms, with various side groups.

The synthesis of steroids, beginning in the 1930s, let to widespread medical use of the compounds, particularly cortisone, a steroid hormone discovered in 1935. Anabolic steroids, derived from testosterone beginning in 1958, are used by some athletes to gain weight and build muscles but have harmful side effects, particularly in young people. The International Olympics Committee banned their use in 1974.