Notice that the anterior and posterior spinal lines (also called anterior and posterior longitudinal ligament lines) and spinolaminar line are all disrupted by the fracture. - https://radiologykey.com/imaging-the-cervical-thoracic-and-l...

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Figure 3-10
Interpretation of the lateral cervical spine x-ray.

A normal lateral cervical spine x-ray, with (A) and without (B) labels.
The spine should be inspected for four curved, roughly parallel lines:
1 Anterior longitudinal ligament line (follows the anterior border of the vertebral bodies)
2. Posterior longitudinal ligament line (follows the posterior border of the vertebral bodies)
3. Spinolaminar line (follows the anterior border of the posterior spinous processes, where the lamina converge)
4. Spinous processes line (follows the posterior border of the posterior spinous processes and does not fully parallel the other lines due to the increasing length of the spinous processes from C1 to C7) The spinal canal, which houses the spinal cord, lies between lines 2 and 3.

If all lines are intact, the vertebral bodies should be properly aligned and the spinal canal should be preserved. - https://radiologykey.com/imaging-the-cervical-thoracic-and-l...

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Interpretation: The L2 vertebra shows some loss of height of the anterior vertebral body.
The posterior vertebral line is intact.
A compression deformity of L2 is suspected.
A CT scan is ordered to examine the extent of injury. - https://www.hawaii.edu/medicine/pediatrics/pemxray/v6c13.htm...

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Midline Sagittal Images

Evaluate the prevertebral soft tissues for thickness greater than 5 mm at C2 or 15 mm at C5.
The anterior spinal line, posterior spinal line, and spinolaminar line should be continuous, and the interspinous distance should be uniform. - http://www.arrs.org/shopARRS/products/s12p_sample.pdf