ROUTES OF EXPOSURE

Oral
Anabolic steroids can be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, but many compounds undergo such extensive first-pass metabolism in the liver that they are inactive. Those compounds in which substitution of the 17-carbon protects the compound from the rapid hepatic metabolism are active orally (Murad and Haynes, 1985). There are preparations of testosterone that can be taken sublingually.


Intramuscular or deep subcutaneous injection is the principal route of administration of all the anabolic steroids except the 17-alpha-substituted steroids which are active orally.