 Principal part of a meromorphic function

At a point $x$ of a Riemann surface, the principal part of a meromorphic function is the negative-degree part of its Laurent series in a local coordinate. It is equivalently a germ in the quotient ${\mathcal{K}}_x/{\mathcal{O}}_x$.

The principal part at a pole is the finite sum of negative-degree terms of its Laurent series. Prescribing such parts is the problem solved by the Mittag-Leffler theorem.