parathyroid any of usually four small, oval glands on or near the thyroid gland; they secret a hormone important in the control of the calcium-phosphorus balance of the body.
paroxysm a sudden attack or spasm.
Penitentes members of a penitential religious sect who whip themselves to express remorse for sin and in hope of forgiveness. Here, the spiritual men of John's Malpais home.
peyote a small, spineless cactus of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, with rounded stems whose buttonlike tops are chewed, specifically in religious ceremonies by Mexican Indians, for their hallucinogenic effects.
plagently loudly and with resonance.
platitude a commonplace or trite remark.
pneumatic inflated. Here, Huxley's word describing a woman with a full, shapely figure.
Podsnap's Technique Huxley's phrase. A method for speeding up the ripening of mature eggs. The process makes possible the production of many identical human beings at roughly the same time.
prognathous having jaws that project beyond the upper face.
