The medical aspects of doping

One of the crucial problems in the competitive sports of our days is the illicit use of drugs in increasing physical performance. The moral, professional, and legal responsibility of the physicians having a role in doping is quite explicit. Sports medicine can significantly contribute to the repression of doping; due to the diverging interests, however, it will not be able to solve it alone. The paper reviews the development and background of doping and, relying on the list issued by the International Olympic Committee, on banned drugs discusses the intended and adverse effects of the drug classes used for doping. Cases of doping detected at the Seoul Olympic Games are presented and a brief survey is given of the means that should be used for check-up.