Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that are structurally related to and have similar effects as testosterone in the body. They are anabolic and increase protein within cells, especially in skeletal muscles. AAS also have androgenic and virilizing effects, including induction of the development and maintenance of masculine secondary sexual characteristics such as the growth of the vocal cords and body hair. The word anabolic, referring to anabolism, comes from the Greek ἀναβολή anabole, "that which is thrown up, mound."