Final answer:
The claim that body water is only divided into plasma and interstitial fluid is false. Body fluid is mainly divided into intracellular fluid and extracellular fluid, which consists of both interstitial fluid and plasma.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that total body water can be subdivided into two fluid compartments—plasma and interstitial—is false. Functionally, body water is distributed across several compartments. The two primary categories are the intracellular fluid (ICF) compartment, which includes all fluids within the cells, and the extracellular fluid (ECF) compartment, which surrounds all cells in the body.
The ECF is split into two main components: the interstitial fluid (IF) that bathes and surrounds cells (excluding blood cells), and the plasma, which is the fluid part of the blood. The interstitial fluid and plasma together make up the extracellular fluid.