Brain - 5

PITUITARY GLAND Controls Growth

 

The pituitary gland is very small — only about the size of a pea! Its job is to produce and release hormones into your body. If your clothes from last year are too small, it's because your pituitary gland released special hormones that made you grow. This gland is a big player in puberty too. This is the time when boys' and girls' bodies go through major changes as they slowly become men and women, all thanks to hormones released by the pituitary gland.

This little gland also plays a role with lots of other hormones, like ones that control the amount of sugars and water in our body. And it helps keep your metabolism (say: muh-ta-buh-lih-zum) going. Our metabolism is everything that goes on in our body to keep it alive and growing and supplied with energy, like breathing, digesting food, and moving our blood around.