KidsHealth presents How The Body
Works with Chloe and the Nerb. Hey, Nerb. I got here as soon as I could. Where are we going today? And why am I dressed
like an old timey hobo? Isn't it obvious? We're going to learn about
the endocrine system. Yeah, that still make no sense. The glands of the
endocrine system deliver chemicals
called hormones to various parts of your body. They regulate the
processes of your body and make sure all the
hormones get where they need to go, on schedule. And what else runs on schedule
and delivers important goods? Trains. Nerb, are we going to
ride the endocrine rail? Oh, I've always wanted to. Even better Chloe. Uh oh. We're riding the
rails, all right. But not in a train. No ma'am. We're taking this
rusty old handcar. Joy. Each gland of the
endocrine system produces chemicals
called hormones. And each hormone
has a different job. The glands are spread
out through the body. A lot of them are
controlled by a little gland near the base of your
brain, called the pituitary. Thyroid, increase production. Attention, ovaries, let's
get the estrogen rolling. I've got my own
work to do here too. Growth hormone, coming up. This guys in charge of the
entire endocrine system? This guy's tiny. Who are you calling
tiny, skinny arms? I may be small, but
I'm what makes you big. It's true, Chloe. The pituitary gland
produces growth hormone, which is what makes
you grow big and tall. And as you can tell, he's
used to giving orders. I should be. I'm pretty important. Even though the pancreas makes
insulin and the nervous system handles adrenaline, I am
still vital endocrine wise. Now scram. I'm busy. I hope our next
gland is friendlier. Are all those trains hormones? They sure are. They're my thyroid hormones. That makes you the thyroid. Right again. My hormones do a number of jobs. But one of the
most important ones is regulating how fast
your body uses the calories from the food you eat. That's called metabolism. Fancy word. Next stop, the adrenal glands. This should be exciting. Hold on. I thought the
adrenal glands were in charge of handling danger,
and excitement, and fun stuff like that. These guys aren't
doing anything at all. Hey, you lazy glands. Wake up. Why? We're napping here. Don't you think you
should be doing your job? This is our job. Listen, sister. The hormone we make
is called adrenaline. And it's very powerful stuff. Only to be used in
case of emergency. Is there an emergency? No. In that case, quick behind
you, huge angry bear. And that my friend is
the power of adrenaline. Wee-haw. Those rascally glands. But look how far we came. We thought we were in danger. So our powerful
adrenalin kicked in and took us almost all
the way to the next gland in two seconds flat. What is that bit
lump over there? This big lump is the pancreas. I'm the biggest gland
of the endocrine system. You certainly are. So what do you do lump? Pancreas. I produce insulin. It's the chemical that
helps you use energy from the food you eat. One last question, lump. Pancreas, and yes? Can I jump on you? Go ahead. Welcome to the final glands
of the endocrine system. The reproductive glands, one
of the most important things they do is make
sure your body goes through the changes of puberty. So you can grow from
a child to an adult. I'm the ovaries. I oversee puberty
in girls and excrete a hormone called estrogen. And I'm the testes. I do the same for boys. My hormone is
called testosterone. Think of us like
sports team coaches. I coach the girls' team. He coaches the boys' team. Go, boys. Girls rule. After a long day of pumping
adrenaline and pumping a handcar, it feels great
to kick back and relax. To the endocrine system,
may it always stay on track.
