Dividing a mesh into more meshes

Say, I have 1 big mesh, and I want it to be made into more meshes, like instead of just the arms, legs, head and torso being in one, I want them to be seperated.

Can I do that? How? (I'm using 3d Studio Max 5 and 2009)

Are you sure this is a model editing question?

Go to editable poly mode, select polygons you want to detach, and hit "detach" on the right pane.