The term virilization refers to a set of signs and symptoms attributable to the presence of significant hyperandrogenism in women.
In other words, the term virilization is intended to denote a particular clinical picture in which a female patient is found to develop typically masculine, but not only, physical traits.
The causes of virilization may be pathological (i.e., attributable to disease or dysfunction), or it may lie in the inordinate and poorly controlled abuse of testosterone derivatives for anabolic or sexual purposes.
